After going 7-10 in 2024, the Dallas Cowboys are hoping to get back on track in 2025. They’ve made some huge changes as they turn to a new head coach in Brian Schottenheimer and added more firepower — including the addition of wide receiver George Pickens.

While they should be praised for being proactive this offseason, they still face a daunting task with one of the toughest schedules in the league.

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There are several tough opponents that Dallas will have to overcome, but according to Pro Football Network’s Kyle Soppe, the toughest challenger will be a team they know well. Soppe says the biggest obstacle for the Cowboys will be heading to Detroit to take on the Lions.

“America’s team has to travel to Detroit to face the team that America has fallen in love with recently. The Lions went into Jerry’s World in Week 6 of last season and won by 38 points. If a healthy Dak Prescott can post a competitive effort on the road against a top-tier team in the conference, it would go a long way toward proving that this team is ready to compete for a playoff spot in a strong NFC East.”

Dallas won in a controversial contest in 2023, but the Lions made a statement last year by humiliating the Cowboys at home. The Cowboys have a chance to erase that awful performance from their memory, while getting revenge in Detroit.

In years past, they’ve folded in the face of such challenges. This test will prove whether or not Brian Schottenheimer’s culture change is working.

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So perhaps I was mistaken about life after Mikko. Seemed like the Stars had shown plenty of positive signs of being able to produce on their own, once he stopped delivering nightly hat tricks or four-point games. Instead, the entire squad was blanked in Winnipeg Friday night, making this a very compelling 1-1 series that continues with a 3:30 puck drop on Sunday at the AAC.

Dallas remains in prime position to keep advancing in this marathon affair called the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just by gaining a split in Winnipeg, the Stars secured the slight edge that is home-ice advantage, although this spring home teams are winning at a better than 2-1 rate — highly unusual for the NHL. Dallas is contributing with a 3-1 record at the AAC. And how things stand makes all the difference in the world when two teams of equal stature are going at it.

But the Stars also lost by four goals Friday night, and even if you want to excuse the empty-net strike from about 185 feet by Nikolaj Ehlers, this was still the fourth time Dallas has lost by at least three goals in the playoffs.

Cause for concern?

“You know what, some of them, the Colorado ones, I did because I thought we got overwhelmed,’’ Stars coach Pete DeBoer said Saturday after the team landed at Love Field. “I didn’t think that was the case last night. When you dive into the analytics and stuff, I think that was the story, too. Couple of those Colorado games were concerning, but I didn’t think last night’s was in that category.’’

Still, with one notable exception (a turning point Game 5 against Colorado), the Stars either win a close game or get drowned in a blowout. No other club has lost four times by three goals. I suppose the good news is that the only other three-time loser by three goals is Winnipeg. The Jets didn’t come close to winning a game in St. Louis, and if goaltender Connor Hellebuyck can be counted upon to resort to those bad performances (he was pulled in each game), Dallas can set its sights on, most likely, the Edmonton Oilers in the next round.

That all seems a little too easy, not to mention a dangerous assumption to make. The Stars forced Hellebuyck to provide at least a few big stops in the second period of Friday’s shutout, and now who’s to say that the game’s best goaltender hasn’t regained his singular focus? For me, Friday’s 4-0 Jets win looked a heck of a lot like Winnipeg’s 4-0 victory at the AAC in the final week when the visitors were nailing down the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stars were encased in a weird late-season slump.

Dallas still looks like that team a little too much, and Winnipeg, which got defenseman Josh Morrissey back into its lineup for Game 2, making the team truly healthy for the first time in the playoffs, looked a lot like the regular season Jets.

“He’s their Miro Heiskanen, you know,’’ DeBoer said. “So that changed things. It slots people for them. It’s a big boost of confidence for their whole group.’’

The Stars could use a similar injection but it won’t come Sunday afternoon. DeBoer said Heiskanen — injured against Vegas on Jan. 28 — won’t play in Game 3 and will return to day-to-day status for Tuesday’s Game 4.

“You know, when he comes back it’s going to be, obviously, a good day, but even then he’s been out for three and a half months. We’re going to have to temper our expectations on what he’s going to bring after that long of an absence,’’ DeBoer said.

For now, it’s back to scratching and clawing and hoping for emergency relief from Rantanen. What do all these blowouts really mean? Not much, maybe, in the sense that Florida won the Stanley Cup last June and lost four games by three or more goals. Of course, the Panthers spread that over two months with two of the losses coming to the Oilers in the Finals after they had grabbed a 3-0 lead. That’s different from losing all of one’s games by three goals.

If you’re looking to local Stanley Cup history, the Stars in 1999 lost seven games in their entire run to the Cup in Buffalo. They lost six games by one goal (four of those in overtime). Their only two-goal loss was a 7-5 defeat against Colorado in Game 5.

Not every Cup winner has to follow the same path. We’re just talking about surviving the second round, anyway. A bounce of the puck here or there, a first postseason goal from Matt Duchene or maybe a second from Mikael Granlund or Jamie Benn could go a long way towards moving the Stars beyond a team quietly waiting for another Mikko miracle.

X/Twitter: @TimCowlishaw

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Dallas Stars could no longer ride the high from their last two games.

After hat tricks in back-to-back games for Mikko Rantanen, the Stars were humbled early by the Jets attack and their offense went cold in a 4-0 loss in Game 2 at Canada Life Centre.

The series returns to Dallas tied 1-1, with the Stars stealing an important win in Game 1.

But the Jets’ response in Game 2 was concerning, as a Winnipeg team that’s underperformed all playoffs seemed to have awoken.

Here are five thoughts from the Stars’ Game 2 loss:

Shades of regular season

Friday’s game was much more in line with the regular-season series between the Stars and Jets than Game 1.

In four regular-season meetings, the Jets outscored the Stars 13-5. Winnipeg’s power play, overall offensive effort and goaltending proved to be far too much for the Stars to overcome when they met in the regular season and became key reasons the Jets went on to win the Presidents’ Trophy.

The Jets looked like the better team and a Stanley Cup contender again Friday, overcoming a shaky start to their playoff run. They scored just 3:35 into the game, added a second tally less than four minutes later and never looked back.

Just like many of their regular-season meetings, the Stars weren’t able to find an answer offensively, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was a big reason.

Playing from behind

The Stars have sacrificed the first goal in eight of nine playoff games. They only scored first in their 6-2 rout of Colorado in Game 5.

Dallas has managed to come back after four of those early deficits, but it dug far too big of a hole Friday to recover.

Tyler Seguin committed a high-sticking penalty that was called a double minor just 17 seconds into the game. Toward the end of that four-minute power play, Gabriel Vilardi scored the Jets’ first goal. Minutes later, Nikolaj Ehlers’ shot bounced off Esa Lindell’s skate and in.

The Stars have recovered from multigoal deficits before, like in the third period of Game 7, but didn’t have the necessary push in Game 2.

In the regular season, the Stars were 31-11-4 when scoring first compared with 19-15-2 when trailing first.

Connor Hellebuyck puts up MVP performance

The Jets’ starting goalie is a Hart Trophy finalist for a reason, and he looked the part in Game 2.

Hellebuyck made 22 saves, including a handful of diving stops late in the second period when the Stars had one of their strongest pushes. He stymied any momentum the Stars built, keeping them off the board entirely.

Friday marked just the fourth shutout in 53 career playoff games for Hellebuyck.

Hellebuyck was inconsistent in the first round against St. Louis, posting an .830 save percentage and a 3.85 goals-against average. On the road, his numbers were far worse, with a .758 save percentage and a 7.24 goals-against average, so the real test will be how he fares when the series makes its way to Dallas on Sunday.

Penalties remain an issue

Penalties have been an issue for Dallas throughout the playoffs, and the wrong players have been the culprits as of late.

Earlier in the playoffs, it was Mason Marchment and Lian Bichsel, two of Dallas’ most physical players, responsible for the penalties. But Friday, the Stars’ veterans committed costly penalties early.

Seguin’s high-sticking double minor on his first shift led to Winnipeg’s first goal. Captain Jamie Benn then negated a Stars power play by tripping Adam Lowry. Whether Lowry embellished or not, Benn’s stick was in the wrong spot at a time it didn’t need to be there.

Dallas committed seven penalties Friday. Winnipeg finished 1 for 5 on the power play.

Stars return home in comfortable spot

A 4-0 loss is never comforting in the playoffs, but the Stars accomplished what they needed in Winnipeg.

Dallas split with the Jets, who had home-ice advantage entering the series, meaning the Stars have overtaken that edge. All they have to do is win Games 3, 4 and 6 at home to secure the series.

That, of course, is easier said than done, but Dallas is typically at its best after losses, especially demoralizing ones. The Stars have not dropped two games in a row yet in the postseason. Under Pete DeBoer, they are 14-5 after a playoff loss.

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.