Dallas, TX
5 things to know about the Stars-Avalanche series in Round 2 of Stanley Cup playoffs
The Dallas Stars have reached the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second consecutive year after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in their first-round matchup.
Dallas advances to face the Colorado Avalanche, a Central Division rival, in the second round. Colorado cruised to a 4-1 first-round victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
The Stars, as the Western Conference regular season champions, have home-ice advantage, meaning they’ll host Games 1 and 2 as well as Games 5 and 7 (if necessary) at American Airlines Center.
The series will start Tuesday, with Game 1 scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. Game 2 will start at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
Here are five things to know about the Stars’ second-round matchup:
A pivotal playoff foe
The Stars have never reached the Stanley Cup Final without going through the Colorado Avalanche. In five postseason meetings, the Stars hold the 3-2 advantage with wins in the 1998-99 season, 1999-2000 season and 2019-20 season.
Their most recent meeting was in the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff bubble when the Stars won in seven games.
Dallas’ three wins all required a Game 7. Colorado’s two wins were decided in only five games in 2003-04 and 2005-06.
Record doesn’t tell whole story
As division opponents, the Stars and Avalanche met four times in the regular season and Colorado won the series 3-1.
Colorado won the first three meetings — two of which were blowouts — while Dallas came away with arguably its best win of the season on April 7 by a 7-4 margin on the road. That win was key in clinching both the Central Division and Western Conference titles.
The circumstances in which the Stars faced the Avalanche this season were not easy. Dallas’ two road games came on the second night of a back-to-back, and the second home game Jan. 4 was the night Miro Heiskanen collided with Scott Wedgewood and was injured in the third period, leading Dallas to blow a two-goal lead with 10 minutes to play in a 5-4 overtime loss.
The Stars won’t have to worry about back-to-backs in the playoffs. Colorado’s Ball Arena is a difficult environment in which to play, but the Stars will start the series at home as the higher seed.
Avalanche started playoffs hot
The Avalanche lead the NHL this postseason with a whopping 5.6 goals per game. While most other teams saw their goal average decrease in the playoffs, Colorado’s soared. The Avalanche also managed to do so against Winnipeg — one of the best defensive teams in the league with Vezina front-runner Connor Hellebuyck in net.
They are led by forward Nathan MacKinnon, who finished second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 140 points in the regular season. He already has nine postseason points (two goals, seven assists) in just five games.
Two other Avalanche players also have nine points — forward Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar, a finalist for this year’s Norris Trophy.
On the flip side, the Avalanche allowed 3.0 goals per game, which is the highest among teams advancing to the second round.
Colorado enters series fresh
The Colorado-Winnipeg series was projected to be the toughest first-round matchup in the league with many assuming it would require seven games.
However, Colorado closed it out in five, ending Winnipeg’s season on Tuesday.
With the Stars-Avalanche series starting Tuesday, Colorado will have a full week off the ice by the time the series gets going. That’s a rare break in the postseason and it allows the players to be well-rested entering the Dallas series.
It may not be the worst situation if the Stars have to jump into another series. After having nearly a week off following their last regular season game, the Stars dropped two straight to Vegas at home to start the playoffs.
The quick turnaround could allow Dallas to build on its four-game win streak and Colorado to cool off from its hot start offensively.
Familiar faces on both sides
A handful of Stars and Avalanche players will reunite with their former teams.
For the Stars, Matt Duchene will return to where he began his NHL career. The first-year Dallas forward spent 8.5 seasons in Colorado from 2009-18. It was the longest stop of his career before playing for Ottawa, Columbia, Nashville and now Dallas.
On Colorado’s side, Joel Kiviranta, Valeri Nichushkin and Andrew Cogliano will all return to Dallas.
Kiviranta left most recently, as he was a part of Dallas’ Western Conference finals roster last season. He played four total years in Dallas. Nichushkin started his career with the Stars, spending four various years with the team from 2013-19. Cogliano was in Dallas for three seasons from 2018-21.
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Dallas, TX
A look at Dallas Cowboys’ 2026 NFL draft picks after Osa Odighizuwa, Solomon Thomas trades
Entering Wednesday, the Cowboys had seven selections in the upcoming draft and no Day 2 picks going into the first day of the NFL League Year.
By the end of the business day, the Cowboys gained an extra draft pick — and it will be on Day 2.
Dallas traded defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to San Francisco for a third-round pick, No. 92 overall. The team also traded defensive tackle Solomon Thomas to the Tennessee Titans and swapped seventh-round selections, moving from No. 225 to No. 218.
Dallas now has eight draft picks, three in the Top 100 and two fifth-round selections that are compensatory.
The biggest thing was getting a Day 2 pick.
The Cowboys originally had picks No. 12 and No. 20 in the first round and wouldn’t pick again until No. 112 in the fourth round.
Dallas gave up Day 2 picks (second and third rounds) in trades for Quinnen Williams (New York Jets) and George Pickens (Pittsburgh Steelers) last year.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was determined to get back into the second or third rounds and moving Odighizuwa, a 2021 third-round selection, to the 49ers to get back into the second day of the draft has proven vital.
In recent years, the Cowboys have struggled to get good value with their second-round picks.
Taking a gamble on players coming off injury or with troubled backgrounds was something the Cowboys wanted to do in the second round.
Jones said at the NFL scouting combine that the team was no longer planning on doing that, considering the issues the defense had last season.
The third round has proved a little more successful. Cooper Beebe (2023) is a starting center and DeMarvion Overshown (2023) at linebacker is a reliable performer. Injuries, however, have slowed Overshown’s development in his brief time in the NFL.
Dallas is hopeful last year’s Day 2 picks, Donovan Ezeiruaku (second round) and Shavon Revel (third round), emerge as starters in 2026.
Revel recovered from knee surgery and played in seven games. Ezeiruaku played 17 games with nine starts at defensive end. Ezeiruaku, who underwent offseason hip surgery, will move to outside linebacker in the new 3-4 defensive scheme.
Also, the Cowboys have the ability to use one of their two first-round picks to move up in the draft or package the third-rounder acquired in the Odighizuwa trade to gain more picks.
Cowboys 2026 draft picks
| Round | Overall |
|---|---|
| First round | No. 12 |
| First round | No. 20 |
| Third round | No. 92 |
| Fourth round | No. 112 |
| Fifth round | No. 152 |
| Fifth round | No. 177* |
| Fifth round | No. 180* |
| Seventh round | No. 218 |
| *Comp pick |
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
The Dallas Cowboys were initially in the mix for Las Vegas Raiders superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby ahead of NFL free agency, and were believed to be one of the finalists in trade talks. However, he was ultimately traded to the Baltimore Ravens for two first-round picks.
Now, the NFL world has been turned on its head with the Ravens deciding to pull out of the trade agreement with Las Vegas.
On Tuesday night, NFL insider Adam Schefter was among the experts discussing what went wrong between the Raiders and Ravens, revealing that Cowboys team physician Dr. Daniel Cooper, one of the premier knee specialists, played a role in the Ravens’ evaluation of Crosby.
Schefter discussed how Dr. Cooper was among the doctors who reviewed scans on Crosby’s knee, which ultimately spooked the Ravens and triggered the end of the deal.
“The Baltimore Ravens essentially failed him on their physical, and my understanding is there were multiple doctors that reviewed his MRI scans,” Schefter said. “There were doctors that examined him, including Dr. Daniel Cooper, the Dallas Cowboys doctor that performed surgery on Patrick Mahomes and Malik Nabers.
“Many teams and players rely on Dr. Cooper’s expertise, and Dr. Cooper was one of the doctors who reviewed the images where the Ravens then felt compelled to back out of this trade.”
It’s hard not to connect the dots that Dr. Cooper’s involvement in the medical review of Crosby led to the team deciding against re-engaging in trade discussions. Though that could change, currently, the Cowboys are expected to move forward with Pro Bowl EDGE Rashan Gary, who the team agreed to acquire from the Green Bay Packers for a 2027 fourth-round pick on the first day of legal tampering.
It will be interesting to continue monitoring the situation and its fallout, which has left the Raiders in a terrible position.
But, with the Raiders now forced to re-examine the money they committed to free agents on Wednesday evening, they may have to pull out of one of their own agreements, which could open the door for the Cowboys to reopen their pursuit of a linebacker like Nakobe Dean or Quay Walker.
The 2026 NFL calendar year officially begins on Wednesday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m. ET, so get your popcorn ready, because it’s going to be a wild ride.
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Dallas Cowboys Nation’s hopes of landing superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby were dashed last weekend when it was announced that he was being traded to the Baltimore Ravens. However, less than 24 hours before the new year, the trade has fallen apart.
On Tuesday night, the Las Vegas Raiders announced that the Ravens have backed out of the trade.
“The Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Maxx Crosby,” the statement read. “We will have no further comment at this time.”
The news sends a major ripple for the league, with the Crosby sweepstakes once again open. Before his trade to the Ravens, the Cowboys were considered one of the teams closely monitoring the situation and a team that made a legitimate offer for Crosby.
At this time, there is no word on why the trade between Las Vegas and Baltimore fell through. When the trade was first reported, the Raiders were set to receive a 2026 and 2027 first-round pick from the Ravens.
Now, his future is in limbo. Before he was traded to the Ravens, it was believed that the Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and Los Angeles Rams were the top candidates to land him. In fact, the Cowboys were “considered runner-ups” in the sweepstakes.
Dallas’ Original Trade Offer
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Cowboys initially offered the No. 12 overall pick in the 2026 draft, a 2027 second-round pick, and an unnamed veteran player.
“Dallas kept a hard line throughout. The franchise wasn’t willing to part with two first-round picks, hoping its 12th pick in April’s draft, plus a future second-rounder, would be enough to entice Las Vegas. Dallas was also willing to package a veteran player to sweeten the deal, but Vegas wasn’t interested in that. The Raiders prioritized picks,” Fowler wrote.
Last season, Crosby recorded 73 total tackles, 28 tackles for a loss, 20 quarterback hits, 10 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception.
We’ll have to see if Dallas ends up being his new home, now that the team has a second chance to make something special happen, but there will be some serious competition. The 2026 NFL calendar year officially begins on Wednesday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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