The Dallas Stars made their deepest postseason run since 2020, reaching Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. But after a magical regular season and a fun month-and-a-half of playoff hockey, Dallas eventually ran out of gas at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Still, there were many magical moments during the Stars' run. But a few stand above the rest. Here, we will look back at the three most precious.
#3 Roope Hintz powers a Dallas surge in Game 2 vs the Minnesota Wild
The Stars felt they deserved a better fate after falling in overtime of Game 1 in the first round. In Game 2, they played like a team that was not going to leave anything up to chance.
It took only four minutes for Roope Hintz to kick off the scoring, the first of three goals in the game. It was a beauty of a shorthanded tally.
Hintz added a power-play goal and an even-strength goal to complete his first postseason hat trick.
#2 Jake Oettinger's response against the Seattle Kraken
Jake Oettinger had a rough start to the second-round series against Seattle. In Games 1-4, the 23-year-old finished three times with a sub-.900 save percentage, including the lowest of his career in Game 3 (.706). But his worst was yet to come.
In Game 6, Oettinger was pulled after allowing four goals on 18 shots (.778) in only 24:23, the shortest start of his career. Dallas lost the game 6-3 and Seattle forced a Game 7 back in Dallas.
In Game 7, Oettinger stood on his head. The Kraken pumped 31 shots at the Stars' net in a do-or-die situation, but Oettinger was up to the task. The former Terrier stopped 31 of 33 (.935) and made every key save to lead Dallas to the Western Conference Final.
#1 Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson lead Game 4 comeback to extend series vs Vegas Golden Knights
Game 4 of the Conference Final looked to be heading in the favor of the Vegas Golden Knights. They scored the opening goal for the second straight game and held a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.
However, the best player on the ice all game was not going to let the Stars go quietly, and Dallas certainly wanted to do everything possible to avoid a sweep.
With under three minutes to go in the third, Jason Robertson located a loose puck off the end boards to the right of Adin Hill. Robertson tucked a backhand inside the far post to tie the game late in Dallas. The crowd went crazy.
Just moments later and 3:18 into overtime, the Stars were pushing on the power play. Eventually, Miro Heiskanen slid a pass over to his left and Joe Pavelski hammered home the one-timer to escape Game 4 and give the Dallas Stars their first win of the series. This time, the crowd went berserk.
It was a fun journey for the Dallas Stars, despite meeting a bitter end. And there were many moments that hockey fans will never forget.