The Dallas Stars started their 2025-26 season off Thursday night with a 5-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets on the road.
Dallas struck early, taking its first lead just 3:15 into the game. Winnipeg kept it close through two periods, but the Stars broke away with three goals in the first 3:23 of the first period to go up 5-1.
Winnipeg managed to climb back into the game and make it 5-4 with three minutes remaining, but the Stars walked away with a narrow win.
Here are five takeaways from the Stars’ season-opening win:
Sports Roundup
$96 million? Worth every penny for Mikko Rantanen
Mikko Rantanen begins the largest contract in Stars’ history this season — an eight-year, $96 million deal he signed with the team after joining via trade ahead of last season’s March deadline.
Rantanen showed what he could do in the playoffs, recording nine goals and 13 assists in 18 postseason games. But after being traded twice last season, the Stars hoped he could reach another level with some stability in his first full year in Dallas.
Based on Game 1, it appears that may be the case.
Rantanen scored a goal and logged two primary assists on Dallas’ first three goals of the season. He logged 18:48 of ice time and three shots on goal.
Rantanen’s goal came just over three minutes into the game after a solid forecheck by his line with Sam Steel and Roope Hintz. Steel found Hintz cross-ice, and Rantanen cleaned up the rebound.
Later in the first, Rantanen showed toughness, dragging the puck down the ice and fending off Winnipeg players to find Nils Lundkvist open in the high slot. He then took a shot on the power play early in the first period, which Jason Robertson deflected for the Stars’ third goal.
Dallas needs Rantanen to be one of the league’s best players this season, and he looked the part in his first outing.
Concerning third-period collapse
The Stars were the better team for the first 45 minutes Thursday, but some problematic mistakes allowed Winnipeg to climb back into the game despite trailing by four goals early in the third period.
The Jets trailed 5-1 with about 16 minutes left in regulation. The Stars had a power play at around the 10-minute mark.
But the Jets proceeded to score twice on that Stars’ power play, closing the gap to 5-3. Kyle Connor scored his third goal of the night to complete the hat trick with three 3:03 remaining after an uncharacteristic mistake by Miro Heiskanen, who fell down in the defensive zone.
Then, Thomas Harley committed a delay of game penalty with 2:52 left to give Winnipeg a power play down one goal. The Stars’ penalty kill came up big to preserve the win.
Dallas also had a costly defensive lapse in the first period on Connor’s first goal. The elite Jets’ scorer was left wide open in front of the net.
The Stars certainly have some things to clean up after Game 1.
Glen Gulutzan not afraid to shift lines
Gulutzan said during training camp that he wasn’t married to any line combinations early in the season. He showed that in the season opener.
Seven different line combinations saw at least 2:29 of ice time Thursday night. The combination that saw the most ice time as a trio was Dallas’ fourth line of Justin Hryckowian, Radek Faksa and Nathan Bastian.
That’s because Gulutzan mixed his top nine frequently.
Steel started with Rantanen and Hintz but was later replaced by Robertson. Robertson also skated with Bourque and Johnston, but Johnston later skated with Seguin and Duchene. Blackwell joined the latter two as well but also skated with Steel and Bourque.
Gulutzan said he never likes lines to get too stagnant, and they certainly didn’t Thursday.
He also brought something out of his old bag of Edmonton tricks: using the Robertson-Hintz-Rantanen line after a penalty kill. The Oilers liked to do the same with their top scorers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Some good, some bad on special teams
There were some impressively good and bad moments for the Stars on special teams Thursday.
Let’s start with the bad.
It took the Stars a little while to get going on the power play. They did score once, but on their next man-advantage, Dallas gave up two short-handed goals in the same power play — one to Morgan Barron and one to Connor.
That simply can’t happen.
It sparked a late push for the Jets, who almost forced overtime.
But on a more positive note, the Stars did notch a power-play score in their first game of the year. Robertson scored on a shot by Rantanen early in the third. Dallas finished 1 for 5 on the man-advantage.
The Stars were also flawless on the penalty kill, as defensive coach Alain Nasdreddine seemed to pick up right where he left off last season. Winnipeg was 0 for 4 on its power plays, which included the last 2:52 of the game where it had a power play and played 6-on-4 and 6-on-5 until time expired.
More physical start than in the past
One of Gulutzan’s missions was to make the Stars a tougher and more physical team. That appeared to be installed in the opener.
Physicality doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, as Winnipeg still had more hits with a 33-21 advantage.
But the Stars were gritty and aggressive in their season-opener. Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen were among the leaders, both taking roughing penalties.
The two division rivals were chippy, and the Stars were able to hold their own. Typically, Dallas looks like the less physical team until the playoffs roll around.
Gulutzan wants the Stars to be more difficult to play against, and for much of Thursday, that seemed to be the case.
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