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.
Following an international break from league play, FC Dallas returns to action this weekend with a clear objective: picking up three points.
Head coach Eric Quill believes his group is recharged and ready to respond after having last weekend off from play. But a road trip to face a disciplined D.C. United squad, who has only given up four goals this season, tells Quill that the margins for errors remain thin.
“The break gave us a chance to reset a bit—mentally and physically,” Quill said. “Now we’re back together and focused on D.C. I think everyone is excited to get back into league play, and I expect a good performance.”
That reset came at an important time. With several players away on international duty, Dallas used the break not only to recover from the first month and a half of the new season, but to evaluate depth across the roster. Younger players and second-team contributors were brought into training, giving staff a closer look at how the full group stacks up.
“It was competitive, intense—exactly what we want,” Quill explained. “We learned a lot about that group. It was nice to have that time with them.”
Now, the focus shifts back to getting results and climbing the table.
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Before the break, FC Dallas delivered one of its most chaotic performance of the season, a wild comeback win overs rivals Houston that showed both its firepower up front and its defensive vulnerabilities. While the result lifted the morale going into the international break, Quill is more interested in preserving the mentality behind it, rather than the match itself.
“I don’t necessarily want that kind of game back,” he admitted. “But I want the resilience to remain. This group is connected, they enjoy working together, and they compete every day. There are no days off with them.”
That identity of hardworking, aggressive and unified, has become a defining trait early on this season for Quill’s club. It’s also one that Dallas will need on the road, where managing momentum swings is often the difference between points gained and points dropped.
There is no sugarcoating it, D.C. United present a very different kind of challenge for FC Dallas.
While Dallas has shown it can thrive in open, high-scoring matches, this weekend’s opponent is built on structure and a defensive discipline that has only allowed four goals this season. Quill was quick to point out how difficult they can be to break down.
“They’re a highly organized team. They don’t give you much,” he said. “They’re very stingy. We have to be smart in how we break them down and not give them transition moments.”
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The last part may be the underlying key for Dallas on the road this weekend.
The Black-and-Red’s ability to capitalize on space, especially when an opponent overcommits, means Dallas will need to balance its aggressive, front-footed style that we’ve seen so far this season with a smarter, more decision making style in possession. Limiting time and space for D.C. United’s attacking players, including their leading goal scorer Tai Baribo, will be a major point of emphasis.
“We want to play our game—front-footed, aggressive,” Quill added. “But we also need to be smart. We’re not happy with where we are in the table, and it’s on us to change that.”
The big story for FC Dallas over the international break was with the signing of former Portland Timber’s attacker Santiago Moreno.
The Colombian joined his new club this week in training and there are still questions as to how he will fit into Quill’s system. Moreno hasn’t played a ton of minutes since leaving Portland for Brazil last summer, but he is eager to get back on the field.
“I’m very happy to arrive at a great club like this,” Moreno said. “I come with a lot of excitement and a desire to contribute to the group. I want to add to the work the coach has already built.”
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Moreno emphasized his desire to quickly adapt Quill’s tactical approach, particularly in how aggressive and connective the attacking phase has been this season.
“He’s a very good coach with strong ideas,” Moreno said. “I hope to adapt quickly to his style—his competitiveness and aggressiveness—and contribute minutes, goals, and assists.”
Moreno could be the key off the bench for Dallas this weekend, if they are looking to add another layer of unpredictability in the final third.
For all of the encouraging signs this season, the reality is simple: Dallas needs results in matches like this one.
The Western Conference table won’t wait, and road matches like this one often define how quickly a team can climb the standings.
The ingredients are there for Dallas going into this one. A refreshed squad. Returning international players with a bit of peep in their steps. A new attacking option that could open up the game. Now it all comes down to execution.
The free stuff tells you what happened. A paid subscription tells you why it happened, what it means for FC Dallas, and what’s coming next—before anyone else catches up.
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The Dallas Arboretum imports hundreds of thousands of tulips from Amsterdam every year, and will pay tribute to the Dutch national soccer team when they play in North Texas. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more.
DALLAS – The Dallas Arboretum is using its unique connection to the Netherlands to pay tribute to their soccer team when they play in Arlington during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Local perspective:
Every spring, the Dallas Arboretum imports more than 500,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands for its Dallas Blooms floral festival.
The festival was inspired by Dutch attractions like the Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam, where more than seven million bulbs are planted.
Dallas Blooms is now the largest outdoor floral festival in the southwest. Abbott Ipco has been the company providing tulips and daffodils to the Arboretum since 1984, which imports the tulips months before they begin blooming in late February.
However, tulip blooms only last four to six weeks in the early spring, so the Dallas Arboretum will plant orange caladiums this summer to pay tribute to the Netherlands’ soccer team when they play in Arlington this summer.
What they’re saying:
“European culture loves gardening, so when they travel, they go and check other gardens as well,” said Megan Proska, the Associate VP of Horticulture Collections at the Dallas Arboretum.
Proska says plans are already in motion to ensure the orange caladiums are ready to go when the Dutch soccer team is in town this summer.
Nelson Darden, the National Sales Director for Abbott Ipco, says Dallas Blooms is like a little Amsterdam in North Texas. He’s hoping to see the Dutch win the World Cup this year.
“People think of England or Argentina, but I feel like the Netherlands, no pun intended, is getting their flowers.”
Dig deeper:
FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has been covering the Netherlands’ soccer team, commonly known as the Orange Legion, ahead of their scheduled game against Japan in Arlington on June 14.
Henk’s European Deli and Black Forest Bakery plans to be a hub for Dutch soccer fans in North Texas this summer.
Founded by an immigrant from the Netherlands, the restaurant plans on importing a large screen to show all the Netherlands’ matches during the World Cup
The Dutch’s iconic double-decker orange bus will make its way to Texas during this year’s tournament.
The bus will start in Galveston before driving up I-45 to Arlington for the team’s game against Japan on June 14.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Dallas Arboretum and previous FOX 4 coverage.
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