Dallas Stars look to knock out Winnipeg in Game 6, and not let Hellebuyck have another shot at home

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars may just want to wrap up their second-round Western Conference series when they have a chance in Game 6, and not let Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets get another game in Winnipeg. While the Stars have a 3-2 series lead and aren't facing elimination Saturday night at home, a loss would send them quickly back to Winnipeg for a series-deciding game. That is where Hellebuyck has back-to-back shutouts and hasn't allowed a goal to Dallas in more than 141 minutes on the ice since Mikko Rantanen's hat trick in the second period of Game 1 that was enough for a 3-2 win. "We felt like we needed to win this one. You don't want to give them any life at all. We don't want to come back here for Game 7," Stars forward Matt Duchene said after their 4-0 loss Thursday night extended the series. "Obviously up 3-1 at one point, it might take seven. They're a good enough team, it could." Hellebuyck and the Jets, however, have lost nine consecutive playoff road games since winning their postseason opener at Vegas in 2023, including Games 3 and 4 of this series in Dallas. The Presidents' Trophy winner has been outscored 25-8 away from home in these playoffs. "We've got to win a road game," Jets captain Adam Lowry said. "We haven't played well on the road at all this playoff, so no better time than now to start." Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT (ABC) Series: Stars lead 3-2. The winner of this series, which will have home-ice advantage in the next round, advances to play a resting Edmonton team in the Western Conference Final. The Oilers wrapped up their second round-victory over Vegas with a 1-0 overtime win in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Dallas is trying to reach the West final for the third season in a row, and lost in six games to Edmonton last year. Winnipeg's last conference final was in 2018. Stars captain Jamie Benn sucker-punched Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele during a late scrum in Game 5. Benn was given a misconduct penalty then, and on Friday was fined by the NHL the maximum-allowed $5,000, but avoided a suspension. "My face hurts. There's not much I can really say in this situation," Scheifele said Friday before the Jets flew to Texas. Scheifele got credited with the opening goal Thursday on a wrist shot that deflected off two Dallas players and past goaltender Jake Oettinger, who had 31 saves. The Jets had a two-man advantage after consecutive tripping periods early in the third period and went ahead 2-0 when Nikolaj Ehlers scored — he added a late empty-netter for his fifth goal in the series. "They played with a desperation level like it was an elimination game. We're a little bit off that," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. Dallas has won five home games in a row since starting the postseason against Colorado with its eighth consecutive Game 1 loss — an unexplainable streak that finally ended with the Rantanen-led win to open this series. That was after his four-point third period with a hat trick in Game 7 against the Avalanche, his former team. If the Stars do need another Game 7 on Monday night, they have won all three they have played under DeBoer over three seasons. He is the only coach or player in NHL history to be part of nine Game 7 victories, with four different teams, and hasn't lost one. Still, with a chance now to close out the series at home, Dallas would prefer not to have to play another one. "We have to approach this like a Game 7, even though we have the luxury of it not being a Game 7," DeBoer said. The Jets, meanwhile, are trying to stave off elimination for the third time this postseason. "It would mean that we're not going on vacation yet," Ehlers said. "We want to go to Dallas and win that game. ... It's been so special to play here in front of this crowd, and we want to repay them by coming back and playing a Game 7 here."