The Dallas Stars visit the Winnipeg Jets in the second round of the NHL Playoffs on Friday night, May 9, with a 1-0 lead in the series.
Dallas Stars (50-26-6, in the Central Division) vs. Winnipeg Jets (56-22-4, in the Central Division)
Winnipeg, Manitoba; Friday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
TV: TNT/Max/TruTV
LIVESTREAM: DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (cheapest streaming plans).
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Jets -119, Stars -101; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS SECOND ROUND: Stars lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Winnipeg Jets won three of the four regular-season games between the two teams. But the Stars won 3-2 in the playoff opener on Wednesday as Mikko Rantanen scored three goals.
Playoff hockey is different. Every opponent at this time of year is obviously proven. But the Winnipeg Jets — who needed seven games and a Game 7 miracle to escape St. Louis in Round 1 — are right back into some hot water, in large part because they’re giving up a lot of goals.
The Jets have given up 26 goals in the last six games, after not giving up more than 20 in any six-game span of the regular season.
HOW TO WATCH
- WHAT: Dallas Stars at Winnipeg Jets, Game 2 of best-of-seven Western Conference Series; Dallas leads 1-0
- WHEN: 9:30 p.m. EDT Friday, May 9
- WHERE: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- TV: TNT/Max/TruTV
- LIVESTREAM: DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (cheapest streaming plans)
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Rantanen’s hot streak (he’s the third player in NHL playoff history to have a hat trick in back-to-back games and the first player in playoff history with at least eight goals and six assists in a four-game span) is one thing. But Winnipeg’s defense wasn’t exactly airtight going back to Round 1 either. And while the Jets survived a Game 7 at home to get here, the last thing they need is to go back to Dallas in a 2-0 hole.
Dallas Stars’ Mikko Rantanen, right, celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammates during the second period of an NHL hockey playoff game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)AP
That starts with doing more against Rantanen.
“He’s just somebody that you always have to know when he’s on the ice,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said of facing Rantanen. “Whenever you face elite players, you’ve got to know where they are. And he’s feeling it. We’ve got to know when he’s on the ice.”
At least the Jets are home, where they led the NHL with 116 points to earn home-ice advantage through the playoffs, while Dallas was second in the Central Division and third in the Western Conference with 106.
“We know we just gave up home-ice advantage,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “And that wasn’t a game where they rolled over top of us for three periods. That was a game where we weren’t at our best.”
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