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.
We’ve got a good old-fashioned NFC East rivalry matchup in store for “America’s Game of the Week” on Sunday.
The Eagles (8-2) and the Cowboys (4-5-1) meet up in Texas for the latest installment of one of the NFL’s top rivalries. Philadelphia won the first game between these two teams to open the season back in September, taking down Dallas in a game that was much closer than many expected.
However, the Eagles have largely looked the part of a defending Super Bowl champion since that game. They enter Sunday’s tilt as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Cowboys, however, have had a bumpy year. They have a tough hill to climb to make the postseason, but it seems possible with newcomer Quinnen Williams leading an improved defensive unit.
Will Philly maintain control of the NFC, or can Dallas start a winning streak and make a playoff push?
Follow along for Sunday’s highlights!
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Nextdoor, the social media platform that connects neighbors through shared recommendations and local updates, recently released its ranking of the friendliest places to live in Dallas. At the top of the list is South Winnetka Heights, an Oak Cliff neighborhood of about 95 homes, many of which date back to the 1920s and ’30s.
Lists like these are subjective, to put it mildly, but in a sprawling city like Dallas, friendliness can feel like a lost art. It’s heartening to see neighborhoods that value connection where the neighborly spirit is thriving.
Last year, the neighborhood just a few streets away from Bishop Arts became an approved conservation district. The ordinance protects the roughly four blocks of Craftsman and bungalow-style houses south of 12th Street, which divides South Winnetka Heights from the Winnetka Heights historic district.
In December, the historic district hosts a holiday home tour, when residents open the doors of their Craftsman homes to visitors. It’s clear that residents take pride in showing off their neighborhood and its Prairie-style and Craftsman houses.
Michael “Patty” Evans has called South Winnetka Heights home for over 20 years and was among the residents who pushed for its conservation district status. He explained that the rules are looser than those of their northern neighbors in the Winnetka Heights historic district — protecting the character of the homes without stricter material or design regulations.
Nextdoor determines neighborhood scores based on factors like posts with positive or negative tones, fulfilled neighbor requests and posts expressing neighborhood pride or dissatisfaction. But that community feel isn’t limited to online.
Evans described the streets around him as a “tight neighborhood.” He said neighbors take the time to introduce themselves to new residents, and that this creates a network of people who know one another and keep tabs on what goes on in the neighborhood.
As much as Chicago or New York are cities of neighborhoods, Dallas is also a city of neighborhoods, and we should try to preserve this sense of community where we can.
As new developments and luxury apartment complexes come to Bishop Arts and more residents and businesses gravitate toward areas like Uptown, finding ways to stay connected to the local community feels increasingly important.
Evans said that sitting on his porch in South Winnetka Heights, especially when the leaves begin to fall, he can see downtown Dallas.
The city is a lot smaller than it can feel, especially when neighbors take the time to talk to each other, and not just online, but also by waving from their porches.
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