Stanley Cup Playoffs 2025: Stars will finally break through in third consecutive Western Conference Final

Newly acquired Mikko Rantanen is among the reasons Dallas has what it takes to get over the hump

The Dallas Stars have been close to the NHL's mountaintop over the past two seasons. The Western Conference Final has previously been as far as this current group has gotten, but there's plenty of reason for optimism as Dallas attempts to clinch its first Stanley Cup Final berth since 2020.

Most recently, the Stars were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the 2024 Western Conference Final. It was a series in which Dallas took two of the first three games from Edmonton before seeing its offense completely go stagnant with just four goals over the final three games. 

In 2023, the Stars found themselves matching up against the Vegas Golden Knights, who ultimately won the Stanley Cup. Dallas fell into a 3-0 hole before rallying to win Games 4 and 5 and climbed back into the series. However, the Golden Knights absolutely dismantled the Stars 6-0 in Game 6 to win the Western Conference Final.

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While a significant amount of the pieces from those two teams still exists, this is a vastly different group that has a lot to prove this time around. When Dallas added Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline, the Stars were viewed as one of the betting favorites to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup this summer and for good reason.

Here are a few factors that will help the Stars finish the job in 2025 and reach the Stanley Cup Final.

The presence of Mikko Rantanen

Since being acquired in March, Rantanen has certainly been exactly as advertised for the Stars. Rantanen leads the NHL postseason in points (19) as he's racked up nine goals and 10 assists in the opening two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he has shown no signs of slowing down.

In recent years, the Stars have possessed an absurd amount of depth when it comes to their group of forwards. However, Rantanen has that alpha mentality that can take over a game at a moment's notice. Over a four-game stretch between the conclusion of the first round and start of the second round, Rantanen piled up eight goals along with hat trick performances in back-to-back games. When the lights are the brightest, Rantanen has consistently risen to the occasion throughout his NHL career, and if he's able to do so yet again, the Stars will be in great shape from an offensive standpoint.

Jake Oettinger coming up big

If you look at any Stanley Cup-winning team in recent years, there's goaltenders like Sergei Bobrovsky, Adin Hill and Andrei Vasilevskiy that have provided stability in between the pipes. When it comes to the Stars, goaltender Jake Oettinger is coming off of an impressive performance in the latter portion of the team's second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets.

Entering the Western Conference Final, Oettinger has compiled an 8-5-0 record to go along with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage during these Stanley Cup Playoffs. During the final four games against the Jets in the previous round, Oettinger posted a staggering 1.75 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage with three of those contests landing Dallas in the win column. The Stars netminder has surrendered more than three goals in two of his 13 starts during the 2025 postseason. Oettinger possesses the ability to stand on his head at times, which is evident in the .963 save percentage when facing unblocked shots, per MoneyPuck. While the team's offense is elite, the Stars will only go as far as Oettinger will carry them.

Elite special teams

The Stars are as dangerous as a team can get when it comes to playing five-on-five hockey. However, this is a team that is even more lethal when it comes to skating on a power play. During the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Stars rank third with a 30.8% success rate, although Dallas has the highest power-play percentage among teams still alive in the postseason. Its 12 goals on the man advantage are the most among NHL playoff teams. Dallas has also scored at least one power play goal in three of its last four games, including defenseman Thomas Harley netting the game-winning and series-clinching goal on the man advantage in overtime of Game 6 against Winnipeg.

Dallas also has thrived on the penalty kill throughout the postseason. The Stars have posted an 86.0% penalty kill percentage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, third behind only the Carolina Hurricanes (93.3%) and Florida Panthers (89.5%) among playoff teams. The Stars only allowed three power play goals during their second-round series against the Jets. Dallas has a very veteran-laden top penalty kill unit that includes Sam Steel, Mikael Granlund, Esa Lindell and Cody Ceci that has thrived this postseason.