DALLAS (AP) 鈥� The Dallas Stars have done what no other team has over the past three decades in reaching three conference finals in a row.
They failed to win a Stanley Cup during their run, though. They didn't even give themselves the opportunity to play for one.
鈥淭hree years in a row now, you get that close and you come up short ... obviously not a good feeling,鈥� said Jamie Benn, the nearly 36-year-old captain who is about to be an unrestricted free agent after 16 seasons in Dallas.
For the third season in a row, and the second against Edmonton, the Stars ended with a loss in the Western Conference final. They at home Thursday night.
鈥淓very year you learn new things. This is not the end goal for us,鈥� said Wyatt Johnston, who at 22 has already been to three West finals. 鈥淵ou need to go through the conference final. ... Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup. I think you always want to learn, and I think that鈥檚 good that you can learn from it, but we want to win.鈥�
against Florida, the reigning champion in its third consecutive final series.
Before Dallas and Florida this year, three other teams made three consecutive conference finals under the current playoff format adopted in 1994. Los Angeles and Chicago won two Stanley Cup titles during their runs, and Detroit won once. Tampa Bay made three Stanley Cup Finals in a row from 2020-22, winning the first two 鈥� the Lightning were awarded the Prince of Wales Trophy as the East champ in 2021, when there were no conference-based playoffs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As deep as the Stars have gone in each of coach Pete DeBoer's three seasons, they haven't been able to get to that final round.
This was the fourth West final in six seasons for the Stars, who in the Canadian bubble in the pandemic-impacted 2020 playoffs eliminated DeBoer-coached Vegas in five games. Dallas then lost in six games to Tampa Bay.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to keep knocking on the door,鈥� DeBoer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really, really hard league to win in. When you get down to the end, to the final four here, it gets exponentially tougher. ... We chased every single game in this series, and that's a tough way to play hockey against that team."
Falling behind and scoring struggles
The Stars gave up the first goal in 15 of their 18 playoffs games, and struggled to score most of the postseason.
Dallas was third in the NHL during the regular season with 3.35 goals per game and shut out only once, in the 79th of 82 games. The Stars averaged 2.5 goals in the playoffs with four shutout losses, including both losses in the second-round series they won in six games over top seed Winnipeg.
A scoreless streak of 178:57 on the road, against Winnipeg and Edmonton, was the longest in Dallas playoff history. The Stars had two goals over the next three games after a five-goal outburst in the third period for a against the Oilers.
鈥淚 think we played two good rounds and then they made it hard on us,鈥� Mikko Rantanen said. 鈥淢aybe just give credit to them. They defended really well.鈥�
Rantanen, the trade deadline acquisition who then signed a $96 million, eight-year contract extension, led Dallas with nine goals and 22 playoff points. But all the goals came in a six-game stretch before finishing with an eight-game drought.
Veteran forwards Benn and Matt Duchene each had only one goal this postseason. Jason Robertson scored twice Thursday, to finish with four in 11 games after missing the start of the playoffs with a lower-body injury.
Benn's future
Stars general manager Jim Nill has said to continue to be a part of the team as long as he wants. This was the .
Asked in the locker room Thursday night if he had any thoughts about his future, Benn softly responded, 鈥淣o.鈥�
When asked if he still wanted to be with the Stars, and if he felt good about the chances of that happening, he answered yes to both.
Hall of Fame center Mike Modano is the only player in franchise history with more than Benn鈥檚 1,192 regular-season games, 399 goals and 956 points. He has played in 120 postseason games.
鈥淗e鈥檚 our captain, he鈥檚 our leader. He鈥檚 a guy that we follow every day,鈥� Johnston said. "Just such an important part of our team on the ice, off the ice, and just an amazing person.鈥�
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AP NHL playoffs: and
Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
