There was a belief by many that the Dallas Stars would bounce back in the first game of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs after losing their last seven regular season games. What we saw on Saturday, was much of the same bad habits as the Stars were clobbered 5-1 by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Western Conference best out of seven series. In the eight game losing streak, the Stars have been outscored 39-19.
Losing streak unexpected
Not many hockey experts predicted the Stars to go into the tank when they acquired Mikko Rantanen of Nousiainen, Finland at the trade deadline in a blockbuster deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. Rantanen was supposed to be an elite Stars player who would help Dallas win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Rantanen has been OK, as he has 18 points in 20 games, but has twice as many giveaways (20) than takeaways (10) in 20 regular season games with his new club.
Five game losing streak for Oettinger
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger of Lakeville, Minnesota has lost his last five outings. In that time he has given up 21 goals, with a goals against average of 4.52 and a save percentage of .861.
Who have the Stars lost to?
Dallas began the losing streak on April 5 in a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. That was followed by a 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on April 6, a 6-5 Stars overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on April 8, a 4-0 Stars loss to the Winnipeg Jets on April 10, 5-3 Stars loss to the Utah Hockey Club on April 12, a 6-4 Stars loss to the Dallas Stars on April 14, and a 5-1 Stars loss to the Nashville Predators.
Who starred for the Avalanche on Saturday?
Nathan MacKinnon of Halifax, Nova Scotia was the Avalanche star. He had two goals and one assist for three points.
