Stars regain their series lead, 2-1, against the Jets after a Game 3 win

Lyanna Yeow
May 11, 2025
4 min read

Winnipeg Jets vs. Dallas Stars (GAME 3)

The Dallas Stars won Game 3 in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets. This matchup took place at the American Airlines Center and ended with a final score of 5-2 in the Stars' favor. Read about what led to the Stars’ win, the standout players of each team, stats, and when their next game is scheduled!

Game Recap

The energy at American Airlines Center electrified when the Stars’ #24 Roope Hintz opened up the first period with a power play goal which gave them an early 1-0 lead. This goal was made possible when #96 Mikko Rantanen extended the Stars’ time on the man-advantage after drawing a penalty and getting the puck to #24 Hintz who redirected the puck into the back of the net. A couple minutes after getting on the board, the Stars’ penalty kill unit and goaltender, #29 Jake Oettinger, were put to the test five minutes into the period. Although the Jets had a set of great chances to tie the game on their man-advantage, they remained scoreless after the Stars killed off the first Jets’ power play opportunity. The first period remained the the Stars’ favor until Jets’ #81 Kyle Connor tied the game, when he settled the puck behind the net and wrapped around past #29 Oettinger (1-1). After successfully killing off another penalty, Stars’ #55 Thomas Harley wrist the puck past Jets’ goaltender, #37 Connor Hellebuyck, and extended the team’s lead by one-goal. After the Stars’ goal, #29 Oettinger remained solid in net and maintained their 2-1 lead going into the second period.

Both teams played cautiously during the start of the second period which remained scoreless until midway through the game. The standstill was broken by Jets’ #52 Nino Niederreiter who made it a 2-2 game when his snap shot slipped past #29 Oettinger. Although the Jets had the man-advantage late in the second period, the push to extend their lead was not enough to break the tie which made the teams go into the last period of regulation 2-2.

The Stars regrouped during the last intermission of the game and completely dominated the third period with three unanswered goals. The goal-scoring streak started off hot with Stars’ #28 Alexander Petrovic regaining the team’s one-goal lead when his redirect made it into the back of the net after ricocheting off #37 Hellebuyck’s stick (3-2). This game-changing goal went under a lengthy review for a kicking motion as #28 Petrovic did display a slight kicking motion, however, the call on the ice stood as a good goal. The referee’s quick on-ice explanation was that, “the Winnipeg goalie puts the puck into his own net after a kick”. After further analysis, what the referee failed to mention were the details about how the puck itself was not going anywhere into the net after being kicked until it made contact with #37 Hellebuyck’s last resort play, hence why it stood as a good goal. Less than a minute after the review, #96 Ranatnen extended the Stars’ lead by two-goals after shooting the puck top shelf (4-2). #53 Wyatt Johnston scored the last Stars goal of the game after he capitalized on a great rebound opportunity which made it a 5-2 game. Although the Jets made a commendable effort in the final minutes of regulation with great scoring chances during 6-on-4 hockey, they were unable to beat the Stars’ goaltender and penalty kill unit who helped to secure their 5-2 win.

The standout players

Dallas Stars

Forward: #96 Mikko Rantanen ended the game with three points (1G, 2A)
Defensemen: #55 Thomas Harley ended the game with two points (1G, 1A)
Goaltender: #29 Jake Oettinger had a save percentage of 0.920% after he saved 23 out of 25 shots on goal

Winnipeg Jets

Forward: #62 Nino Niederreiter scored one of the two Jets’ goals
Goaltender: #37 Connor Hellebuyck had a save percentage of 0.808% after he saved 21 out of 26 shots on goal

Stats

The Stars slightly outshot the Jets (26 SOG vs. 25 SOG)
The Stars delivered more hits than the Jets (42 hits vs. 41 hits)
The Jets won more faceoffs than the Stars (51.9% vs. 48.1%)
The Stars had a higher power play success rate than the Jets (50 PP% vs. 0 PP%)

SUMMARY: Although the Stars and Jets were relatively similar when it came to puck possession and physicality, the Stars’ ability to capitalize on their scoring chances and man-advantages greatly benefited them during this game.

Upcoming Games

GAME 4