The Dallas Stars are officially in the thick of the NHL playoffs.
Through the first round, things won’t get any easier along the path to the Stanley Cup, as the Stars try to bring it home to Dallas for the first time since the summer of ’99.
Clueless about the Stars? Don’t know any of the players? Not sure if victory green is your color?
Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of room to hop on the Stars’ bandwagon for their 2025 playoff run.
Here are five reasons to hitch a ride as the Stars continue their push to the Cup:
And boy, has it paid off already.
In March, the Stars traded Logan Stankoven — a beloved but still mostly unproven 22-year-old — two first-round draft picks and two third-round draft picks for Mikko Rantanen, a top-10 scorer in the NHL.
How good is Rantanen? Imagine if the Mavericks traded for Anthony Davis without giving up Luka Doncic. That’s the best way to describe what Stars GM Jim Nill and his staff did ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Upon trading for Rantanen, the Stars also signed the superstar to an eight-year, $96 million contract, guaranteeing he’ll be in Dallas for nearly a decade.
And in the first postseason opportunity he got, Rantanen saved Dallas’ bacon against one of his former teams.
He scored three goals in the third period of Game 7 against the Avalanche to save the Stars’ season and help them advance to Round 2 of the playoffs.
Dallas made it through the always-challenging Colorado Avalanche even without two key players battling injuries.
Forward Jason Robertson, perhaps the Stars’ best goal-scorer on the roster, sustained a leg injury in the team’s regular-season finale and missed all of the first round. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen, a former No. 3 overall pick in the NHL draft and arguably Dallas’ best player, suffered a knee injury on Jan. 28 and had surgery.
Both players are expected to return at some point in Round 2, according to head coach Pete DeBoer, meaning this skilled Stars team could reach another level with them back in the lineup.
The Stars have gone to back-to-back Western Conference finals, and are favored to make another return.
Dallas is -165 to win its second-round series against the Jets, per FanDuel Sportsbook, even after Winnipeg finished first in the Western Conference and ended the regular season 10 points ahead of the Stars in the Central Division standings.
Of course, the conference finals aren’t the goal. The Stars are looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2020.
Jake Oettinger is only 26, but he’s already built a reputation for being at his best when the lights get bright.
Through an up-and-down first-round series, Oettinger was the one constant for Dallas, posting a .911 save percentage, the best among goalies who have started every playoff game for their team.
Maybe it’s the seemingly carefree “Otter” attitude that keeps him so loose in the playoffs.
“What more could you want as a player?” he said ahead of Game 7 against the Avs. “Ten years from now when I’m sitting on my couch watching these Game 7s, I’m going to be thinking about this moment. Just trying to enjoy every single second and have fun. I can’t control every little thing. When the buzzer sounds, I just want to be proud of my effort.”
The NHL’s playoff format may be somewhat unfair to certain teams from more competitive divisions, but it leaves plenty of excitement both early in the playoffs and leading up to them.
Year after year, the Central Division is one of the most competitive, and this season was no different. It featured two of the top three teams in the league, including the Stars and the league-leading Jets.
The Stars have already knocked out one Central Division rival in Colorado. Now they face an even bigger test against Winnipeg — but they’ve got the battle scars that show they’re ready for a fight.
Twitter: @dmn_stars
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
(Editor’s Note: Who doesn’t love lists? Throughout the season, ‘High 5’ will provide a top five list for many of the critical topics surrounding the Dallas Cowboys 2025 season.)
With the Dallas Cowboys officially eliminated from the playoff picture, it is now true evaluation time for the entire roster. This is a team that just landed five players on the Pro Bowl roster, with multiple reliable starters that were just outside the list of contenders. Meaning there is still talent on the roster to build upon for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
One of the biggest questions about the roster has to do with the depth at certain positions of need. Dallas stacks up nicely when it comes to the offensive weapons and promising defensive prospects.
Another year, another young backup quarterback with questions surrounding his future with the franchise. Last season, it was Trey Lance, this year it’s Joe Milton. Dallas traded a 2025 fifth-round pick for Milton in April and have yet to see what he can really do as a backup in this organization.
In just his second year out of Tennessee, Milton’s contribution in the regular season was an incredible Week 18 performance last season, a touchdown pass late against the Broncos, and a fumble late in the game against the Chargers. Now, it appears Dak Prescott will play most of the remaining snaps, but this may be the best chance to give legitimate work to a backup quarterback who could use it.
With all the investments made up front for the Cowboys interior defensive line, there is a clear outlook of where the team is headed at the position. Think about it this way, since Jay Toia joined the team in the 2025 NFL Draft, Dallas has added Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, and Perrion Winfrey at the position group alone.
In his rookie season, Toia has three combined tackles, one QB hit, and five appearances. His last active appearance for the team was in Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders. As a seventh-round pick, he may only have the final two games of the regular season to prove his worth to a growingly busy defensive tackle rotation.
After a promising stint in the preseason with 15 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown, Phil Mafah was just on the outside of the Cowboys crowded running back room when Dallas shelved him on Injured Reserve with a shoulder issue. He had suffered a torn labrum in his final season with the Clemson Tigers and possibly carried that over into his time in Dallas.
Mafah is an interesting case because when he was competing for reps in training camp, he was doing so against a full room of prospects who hoped to become the starter. Of course, it was Javonte Williams that emerged as the team’s primary back, while the only other running back that has seen success in 2025 is Malik Davis. Meaning a roster spot for 2026 is very much so on the table for the bigger-bodied tailback.
When the Cowboys traded a 2025 fourth-round pick for Jonathan Mingo, it was right in the middle of their hunt for a sustainable WR2 option. Since then, George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy have stepped into a solid second and third wide receiver role, while Mingo and Jalen Tolbert have struggled to stay on the active roster.
Mingo finished 2024 with five receptions on 16 targets for 46 yards, with the anticipation that he’d get more playing time and run with the first team guys in 2025. Not the case. He’s tallied only one reception on three targets for 25 yards and has been active for just four games. He is currently under contract for next season, but will need to take advantage of his very few opportunities to earn his spot on the roster.
Once a regular in the minds of Cowboys fans everywhere, Jaydon Blue quickly became an afterthought because of the emergence of Javonte Williams and Malik Davis this season. Instead of being a consistent change of pace runner in the Cowboys backfield, Williams has been inactive for all but four games this season. He registered a season-high eight carries for 29 yards in the blowout loss to Denver in Week 8.
Along the same lines as Phil Mafah, he’ll have just as much to prove going into this offseason than he did going into first season in the NFL. Ball security and pass protection were each reported as reasons that Blue was not a consistent presence in the lineup. He’ll have to show improvement in those categories, and use his athletic ability or speed to stand out.
The Dallas Mavericks lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 119-113 Monday night in New Orleans, the second-straight loss for the Mavericks after falling to Philadelphia on Saturday.
It was also a second-straight clutch loss for Dallas, as the Mavericks once again couldn’t find any answers during the high-leverage possessions during the fourth quarter. Anthony Davis led all scorers with 35 points, while Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 24 points off the bench.
It was a really frantic game from the opening tip, with both teams pushing the paints and attacking the rim. Dallas trailed by double-digits midway through the first quarter, but eventually took a lead in the second quarter and into the locker room thanks to a throwback first-half from Klay Thompson. Thompson scored 20 points in the first half, nailing threes and doing some decent work inside the three point line as well. Davis’ half was a little uneven, even though his numbers were great, but he rebounded and scored the ball well to stabilize the Mavericks after a poor start to the game.
It looked like Dallas was going to blow things open in the third, as the Pelicans went ice cold from three, the Mavericks kept pounding the paint, and Davis continued to look like his All-NBA self. In the fourth quarter, the Mavericks let their own double-digit lead slip away, as the Pelicans finally made some threes, and then Williamson just roasted the Mavericks defense. The Pelicans went to Williamson almost every time down the floor after a three point from Jordan Poole tied the game at 98-98 midway through the quarter. Williamson either scored at the rim or got fouled. Dallas had no answer, whether that was Davis or PJ Washington.
The Mavericks couldn’t match the Pelicans intensity and they lost. A brutal loss to a bad team, one the Mavericks can’t afford if they’re serious about making a play-in run.
Here’s one major thought from the game.
For a few weeks now I’ve had a column stewing in our content management system here at Mavs Moneyball. The title was “The Mavericks might be a good team, so what does that mean?” I’ve been wanting to write it for a while now, as the Mavericks steadied their play since the middle of November behind Davis’ return from injury, Ryan Nembhard’s surprising play at point guard, and Cooper Flagg’s continued ascension. It made sense, and even if the Mavericks weren’t truly a good team, they at least proven to be a competitive one that should make the West’s play-in bracket.
It might be time to tap the brakes on that idea, at least for now. Dallas has lost three out of its last four games, with two of them being to Utah and New Orleans, both teams looking toward the lottery than a playoff push. The Mavericks are now 11-19 and two games back of 10th place. While there’s still plenty of time for the Mavericks to make a push, the schedule is only getting harder: the Mavericks play six of their next nine games on the road, with the schedule evening out after the Mavericks were gifted so many home games to start the season. Dallas is dreadful on the road, only 3-9.
Some of that magic from a few weeks ago feels like it’s wearing off. Davis has still been good, but his defensive effort waxes and wanes as he’s relied on to be the team’s primary scorer. Nembhard has cooled off considerably, and the Mavericks are once again mixing and matching point guards every night to try and find a combo coach Jason Kidd likes as Brandon Williams has gone AWOL from the three point line. Flagg is still awesome, but he’s 19. Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington haven’t made sustained impact, with both dealing with some nagging injuries. The Mavericks are still playing hard as hell, but they don’t seem to have something else to rely on. It’s great to play harder than the other team most nights, but you have to be better at more than that to consistently win games. This is the NBA — playing hard should be the bare minimum, not a bonus. Other teams will play hard, like the Pelicans did in the fourth quarter, and once a team matches the Mavericks effort level, they have shockingly little counters past that. Kidd even went back to the double-big lineup in the fourth with Davis and Gafford together, and the Pelicans predictably roasted that grouping. But it feels like Kidd is at times just shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.
Perhaps the Mavericks will hit another good shooting stretch, or Flagg will level up his game once more. But the Mavericks aren’t guarding well, they aren’t shooting well, and they are running into teams that are playing just as hard as they are. It’s a tough combination, and even if the Mavericks can find a way to regain some of that edge they had before this losing stretch, 11-19 is an awfully big hole to climb out of, especially with Dallas’ schedule being so road heavy to close the season.
Make one thing clear: the Mavericks aren’t tanking. They’re still playing hard. But it’s easier than ever to imagine some veteran trades getting done as we inch closer to February’s deadline.
DALLAS – A man was shot and killed in southeast Dallas on Sunday afternoon.
What we know:
The shooting happened around 4 p.m. in the 100 block of S. Murdeaux Lane.
Responding officers found 25-year-old Matthew Moore with a gunshot wound.
He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
What we don’t know:
Dallas police haven’t released any information on the events leading up to the shooting.
There’s no word on a motive, a suspect, or an arrest.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Dallas Police Department.
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