Thomas Harley scored the game-winning goal on the power play in overtime to send the Dallas Stars to the Western Conference Finals after defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime Saturday night at American Airlines Center.
Game Story
The first period went scoreless, and both teams had great chances of their own, but Dallas ended the period with the better chances and were outshooting the Jets 6-4.
Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger were standing on their heads throughout the entire game, and the first period solidified that it was going to come down to the wire of a one-goal game.
Late in the first period, Josh Morrissey and Mikko Rantanen got tied up deep in the Jets’ zone, and Rantanen fell right on Morrissey’s left leg. Morrissey would leave the game frustrated at the injury and didn’t return for the remainder of the game.
The Jets built momentum late in the first period as they got two good scoring chances on net, but nothing materialized as the buzzer sounded.
The Jets came out flying in the second period, having great chances to open the scoring early, but it was none other than Mark Scheifele who scored the opening goal for the Winnipeg Jets. Scheifele, who played game six after finding out his dad passed away unexpectedly the night before, played with a heavy heart and scored the lone goal for his group. Scheifele found the rebound and put it five-hole on Oettinger from out front, which made it a 1-0 game in the second period.
The Jets continuously pushed on Oettinger, but as play continued to dart from one end of the ice to the other, Thomas Harley got a shot on the net that gave the chance for Sam Steel to pick up the rebound and bury a snap shot from the edge of the circle to tie the game up at 1-1.
The Stars and Jets continued to press, and the period came down to the final seconds yet again. The Stars flipped the script and pushed hard late in the final minute of the second period, even getting one clean shot on Hellebuyck in the slot, but nothing materialized for the Stars.
The game headed into the third period tied 1-1, and more feelings of a next goal wins scenario began to creep up.
The third period was a game for both teams, and the Jets had the best opportunity to score the go-ahead goal as Adam Lowry fed the puck cross-crease to Mason Appleton who ended up shooting it right into the logo of Oettinger.
The Stars had great chances of their own, and Hellebuyck came up big to keep the Jets in the game and their Stanley Cup Playoffs hopes alive.
However, everything fell apart as the lone penalty was called on Mark Scheifele for tripping Sam Steel with 14 seconds left to play in the third period. The Jets got through the remainder of the third period, but heartbreak had yet to come.
The Jets were so close to killing off the penalty to Mark Scheifele, 15 seconds to be exact, but Thomas Harley put the dagger into the Presidents’ Trophy winners’ hearts. Tyler Seguin fed Harley with a nice dish, allowing Harley to blast a high blocker side snap shot just 1:33 into overtime to send the Dallas Stars to the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive season.
Thomas Harley ended the game with two points (1G, 1A) as the Dallas Stars found their way to another Western Conference Finals. The Stars also dominated at the faceoff dot, beating the Jets 64% of the time when it came down to faceoffs.
What’s Next?
With the Dallas Stars defeating the Winnipeg Jets in six games to advance to the Western Conference Finals, the Jets were eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Dallas faces the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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