The final Round 2 series of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs gets underway tonight as the Dallas Stars head to the Canada Life Centre to take on the Winnipeg Jets. Both teams are coming off historic Game 7 comeback victories and will be battling for a chance to represent the Central Division in the Western Conference Final.
Related: 4 Keys to a Jets’ Second-Round Win Over Stars
Heading into Game 1, both the Stars and Jets are battling injuries to key players and will be riding emotional highs from their first-round victories. This is as even a series as we’re likely to see, and it could come down to the thinnest of margins. Here are three keys to the Stars securing a win over the Jets in Round 2.
Big Boys Need to Produce for Stars
The Stars’ best players will have to be their best players, and early, as they start Round 2. In the first round against the Colorado Avalanche, their offense didn’t click until a six-goal outburst in Game 5 that carried through into Game 7. It might have taken a bit of time in the deciding game, but it got there. In Games 1 through 4, Tyler Seguin was the leading scorer, with two goals, and Roope Hintz was the only first-line player who scored. Jamie Benn, Evgenii Dadonov, and Colin Blackwell chipped in offensively, as did Thomas Harley from the backend, but that was it.
As good and deep as the team is, they can’t rely on only those players as they go deeper in the playoffs. The two games they won through the first four were in overtime, and they can’t count on that happening again. In the final three games of the series, Mikko Rantanen scored five goals, Hintz and Wyatt Johnston had three each, and Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment, and Harley each had one. Aside from Harley, those are the team’s top producers, and that’s exactly what the Stars need against the Jets.
Winnipeg might not have Cale Makar, but when they’re at their best, they are one of the best defensive units in the league. It’s hard to know exactly what version of Connor Hellebuyck they’ll be getting, but if he’s anything close to the Vezina winner that we know he can be, the Stars can’t rely solely on depth scoring to get the job done. Good defense and great goaltending by Jake Oettinger bought the Stars enough time to start scoring in Game 5. It worked, and they moved on. But that can’t happen again.
Stars’ Special Teams Keep Clicking
The Stars’ special teams have been humming, and they need to keep that going in Round 2. In Round 1, they were top-five in the NHL on special teams with the fourth-ranked power play (30.4% success rate), and on the penalty kill, they were third with an 86.4% kill rate. This made all the difference against the Avalanche, especially in Game 7, when they scored the game-tying and the game-winning goals with the man advantage.
Dallas also killed off many penalties in key situations, including double-minors in overtime and in Game 7. The Jets, on the other hand, were average in both categories. On the power play, the Jets were 11th in the NHL at 22.7%, and eighth on the penalty kill at 76.9%.
Overall, the Stars scored 21 goals while allowing 24, while the Jets also scored 21, but allowed 27. At 5-on-5, these teams are relatively even, with the depth slightly leaning towards the Stars. Both goalies are world class and both defensive units can be stingy. Taking advantage of their opportunities on special teams will be key, and the Stars have the edge in that category.
Stars’ Success on the Road
In the first round, the Stars were 3-1 at home and 1-2 on the road, which checks out considering that Dallas and Colorado were solid at home during the regular season. The Stars are a great home team and a very good road team. I’m not worried about them.
The Jets were like Jekyll and Hyde in Round 1. At home, they were 4-0 and outscored the Blues 16-10. On the road, they were 0-3 and were outscored 17-5. The Jets have home ice in this series, so even if they lose one or two games at home, it won’t matter if they can win in Dallas. If their loose defense and bad goaltending on the road carry over into Round 2, the Stars will have a field day, especially since they were one of the best home teams during the regular season and in Round 1.
Injury Notes
It has been confirmed by head coach Pete DeBoer that Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen will return for Round 2. They are both listed as day-to-day, and DeBoer said they could be available for Game 1, 3, or 5, which is about as vague as you can get.
For the Jets, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, and Logan Stanley are also listed as day-to-day and will be game-time decisions.
Stars Heading into Round 2
This Round 2 series will be a juggernaut. These teams finished first and second in the Central. It’s the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets facing a Stars team that has been to back-to-back Western Conference Finals and features two of the best goalies in the world in opposite creases. This series has it all.
Overall, there might be more questions about the Jets. Yes, they made it out of the first round, but the road to get there was full of turbulence, while the Stars’ series against the Avalanche went pretty much according to predictions. This one will be a dog fight. Be sure to check out The Hockey Writers’ daily coverage of this and every series in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
