Stars vs. Jets: Opening Night Rekindles a Playoff Grudge as Dallas Visits Winnipeg

Stars vs Jets Game Info, TV and What’s New

Dallas and Winnipeg meet at 8:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. local). Regional coverage includes TSN3 in Canada and Victory+ in Dallas, with national streaming options available. Winnipeg’s buzz centers on Connor’s eight-year, $96 million extension that resets the club’s pay scale and cements its scoring core. Dallas counters with star power of its own: Rantanen’s first Opening Night as a Star turns a potent top six into a matchup nightmare, even as the club navigates October without captain Jamie Benn (collapsed lung).

Projected Lineups and Starting Goalies

Dallas Stars (0–0–0)
Steel — Hintz — Rantanen
Robertson — Johnston — Bourque
Blackwell — Duchene — Seguin
Hryckowian — Faksa — Bastian
Lindell — Heiskanen
Harley — Lundkvist
Bichsel — Lyubushkin
G: Jake Oettinger (starter), Casey DeSmith

Winnipeg Jets (0–0–0)
Connor — Scheifele — Vilardi
Nyquist — Jonathan Toews — Chibrikov
Niederreiter — Namestnikov — Iafallo
Koepke — Barron — Pearson
Morrissey — DeMelo
Fleury — Pionk
Logan Stanley — Luke Schenn
G: Connor Hellebuyck (starter), Eric Comrie

Notable absences: Dallas captain Jamie Benn is out and on the mend; Winnipeg forward Cole Perfetti (ankle) is week-to-week and misses the opener.

Key Storylines: Star Power on the Wings, Centers Decide the Chess

Rantanen’s gravity changes the matchup board. With Hintz’s north-south speed and Rantanen’s elite hand skills, Dallas’ first line can create controlled-zone entries and extend possession in tight spaces. That pulls attention away from a second unit featuring Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston, a duo that already drives play and now benefits from softer matchups.

Connor’s extension, Scheifele’s table-setting. Winnipeg’s top unit is intact and dangerous. Connor’s one-touch release pairs with Mark Scheifele’s patience through the bumper lanes, while Gabriel Vilardi provides retrievals and net-front layers. The ripple: if Dallas overcommits to that trio, Gustav Nyquist–Jonathan Toews–Nikita Chibrikov can exploit third defenders with pace and inside support.

Goaltending Duel: Two Vezina-Caliber Floors

Jake Oettinger and Connor Hellebuyck tend to flatten volatility. For Dallas, Oettinger’s edge work and post integration neutralize Winnipeg’s low-to-high cycles; expect him to freeze pucks to kill the Jets’ forecheck momentum. Hellebuyck’s strength is economy — one-and-done chances won’t beat him. Dallas must layer traffic and lateral seams, especially from the Harley–Lundkvist pair off the weak side.

Special Teams and Tactics to Watch

• Dallas power play: Heiskanen up top in a 1-3-1, with Rantanen on the right flank and Robertson as the left-halfwall shooter. The interior touch from Johnston at bumper is the release valve that unlocks the seam to Rantanen’s one-timer.

• Winnipeg power play: Morrissey quarterbacks; Scheifele manipulates below the dots. The Connor backdoor threat forces Dallas’ weak-side winger to collapse, opening Pionk/Morrissey point shots with layered screens.

Neutral-zone control will dictate tempo. Dallas prefers controlled exits through Heiskanen and Harley, then wide entries to create cutbacks. Winnipeg’s best counter is an early stand at the red line, steering dump-ins to Hellebuyck’s forehand for quick reversals.

What Likely Decides Stars vs. Jets Tonight

1. First-goal leverage: Both teams can sit on a lead; the opener often turns on that first special-teams bounce.

2. Depth minutes: With Benn and Perfetti out, third lines matter. Whichever staff squeezes a plus from the Duchene–Seguin unit or Niederreiter–Namestnikov–Iafallo gains an edge.

3. Blue-line poise under pressure: Winnipeg’s exits hinge on Morrissey–DeMelo; Dallas’ on Heiskanen–Lindell. Early, clean touches for those four will be a bellwether.

It’s the sort of opener that feels like mid-April: tight, physical, and defined by stars finishing slim margins. On paper, it’s a goaltenders’ game; in practice, the team that wins the slot will write the headline.