The Dallas Stars had the third-best record in the NHL, the franchise's third consecutive 50-win season, and two forwards who became the first teammates in franchise history to each score 40-plus goals in the same year. They lost in six games to the Minnesota Wild. Outside of Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston, the forwards produced three goals combined. Eleven of Dallas's total playoff goals came with a man advantage. The regular season was elite. The series was not.
By Mike Holloway · May 2026 · 2025–26 Season Review Series · Playoff Teams
Oct–Feb · Franchise Records Falling
Robertson 96pts, Johnston 45G, fewest road regulation losses in franchise history, third in the NHL. Every metric pointed in the same direction at the All-Star break.
March · The 1-4-2 Stumble
Late-season slump with Rantanen, Hintz, and Seguin all dealing with injuries. The first genuine concern about depth and health entering April.
April · The 6-1-0 Closing Run
Two Oettinger shutouts in five days, a five-game win streak, and the second seed in the Western Conference clinched. Peak form heading in.
Third in the NHL. Third Consecutive 50-Win Season. Franchise Records Across the Board.
The Dallas Stars finished the 2025-26 regular season with 112 points - the third-best record in the National Hockey League, behind only the Colorado Avalanche (121 points) and the Carolina Hurricanes (113 points). They won 50 games for the third consecutive season, a franchise first. Their 24-9-8 road record set a franchise record for fewest road regulation losses. They won 28 one-goal games, the most in the NHL. Jason Robertson produced 96 points and became the first player in franchise history with multiple 90-point seasons. He and Wyatt Johnston both scored 45 goals, becoming the first teammates in Dallas history to each hit 40 in the same year. Jake Oettinger won his fourth consecutive season with 35-plus victories. Every metric the franchise tracks for regular-season excellence pointed in the same direction. They had the second seed in the Western Conference. They drew the Minnesota Wild - a 104-point team, the third seed in their own division - in the first round. They lost in six games.
Third Consecutive 50-Win Season. Fewest Road Regulation Losses in Franchise History. First Teammates Both Scoring 40+ Goals.
50 wins - third straight season, a franchise first. 112 points - third in the NHL, second in the Western Conference. 28 one-goal wins - led the NHL outright. 24-9-8 road record - fewest road regulation losses in franchise history. 27 power-play goals - franchise record. 10 multi-goal comeback wins - led the NHL.
The regular season cannot be evaluated solely through the lens of the first-round exit. Dallas won 50 games for the third consecutive year - no franchise in Stars history had done that before. They navigated a franchise-best 46 one-goal games and came out ahead in 28 of them. They finished the final week of the season on a 6-1-0 run after stumbling through a 1-4-2 stretch in March that raised genuine concern about the team's health and depth heading into April.
The final 112 points represented the third-most in franchise history - two fewer than the 114 the 1998-99 Cup championship team produced. The regular season was, by every measure, a success. The playoffs were something else.
Jason Robertson finished the regular season with 96 points - 45 goals and 51 assists - in 82 games. It was the second-highest scoring season in Dallas Stars franchise history, trailing only Robertson's own 109-point season in 2022-23. He ranked top ten in the NHL in goals, points, even-strength goals, power-play goals, power-play points, game-winning goals, shots, and shootout goals. He is one of the five or six most complete offensive players in the Western Conference, and the 2025-26 season was the confirmation, not the announcement, of that.
Wyatt Johnston scored 45 goals. Together, Robertson and Johnston became the first two teammates in Dallas Stars franchise history to each score 40-plus goals in the same season. The milestone matters because it reflects not just what Robertson is - established, elite, consistent - but what Johnston is becoming: a legitimate first-line centre who can drive play offensively at a rate that complements rather than depends on the wingmen around him. He is 22 years old. Robertson is 25. The combination of a 96-point winger and a 45-goal centre in the same top six, with Miro Heiskanen driving the power play from the blue line, is the structure of a team that is built to compete for multiple years.
Robertson Scored 5 in the Series. Johnston Scored 4. Everyone Else - Rantanen, Duchene, Hintz, Benn, All the Others - Combined for 6. In a Six-Game Series. Against a Team They Were Heavily Favoured to Beat.
Mikko Rantanen scored 22 goals in the regular season. He scored one in six playoff games against Minnesota. Matt Duchene scored 16 goals in the regular season and two in the playoffs. Roope Hintz - whose injury status was discussed at the break-up day media availability - contributed minimally. Jamie Benn scored no goals and the post-series analysis focused specifically on the coaching decision to deploy him in critical late-game situations where his legs were visibly giving out. Of the team's non-Robertson, non-Johnston forwards, only three goals were produced in the entire series.
Eleven of Dallas's playoff goals came with a man advantage - from the power play, an empty-net power-play goal, or with Oettinger pulled. At even strength, against a Minnesota team that was competitive but not superior to them by any individual metric, they could not generate the consistent scoring that their regular-season numbers demanded. It was not the first time this specific problem manifested. In the 2025 Western Conference Final, Dallas scored five even-strength goals in a 4-1 series loss to Edmonton. The pattern is consistent enough to identify as structural.
The question for Jim Nill and Glen Gulutzan entering the offseason is whether the scoring depth issue is a personnel problem (too much dependence on Robertson and Johnston when Rantanen and Duchene don't produce) or a structural problem (the team's even-strength system does not generate chances deep enough in the zone for the depth players to convert). Both can be true simultaneously. Both must be addressed before the next playoff round if Dallas's top-three-NHL-record regular season is to mean something beyond the standings.
Minnesota Wild def. Dallas Stars 4-2 - The Most Surprising Result of the First Round
Game 1 · MIN wins at AAC - Minnesota takes home ice immediately. Rantanen invisible. Depth scores nothing.
Game 2 · DAL wins at AAC ★ - Robertson and Johnston respond. Dallas evens it. The power play comes through.
Game 3 · MIN wins at Xcel - On the road, the depth disappears again. Rantanen still searching for his first goal of the series.
Game 4 · MIN wins at Xcel - Dallas down 3-1. Oettinger under pressure. Heiskanen is one of only three non-star scorers in the series.
Game 5 · DAL wins at AAC ★ - Back at home. Robertson keeping the season alive. Bourque scores the other non-star goal.
Game 6 · MIN wins at Xcel - Season ends in Minnesota. The Wild advance to face Colorado in Round 2. The Stars clean out their lockers.
The final series goal distribution: Robertson (5), Johnston (4), Rantanen (1), Duchene (2), Heiskanen (2), Bourque (1). Three additional goals from those six players; zero from the remainder of the forward group. Eleven total goals came with the man advantage. Even-strength goals across six games were critically insufficient. Oettinger was not the issue - his regular-season form carried into the series but was not backed up by the even-strength offence he needed. The Wild took advantage of a team that is dangerous on the power play and manageable everywhere else, and structured their penalty kill to limit the man-advantage opportunities. It worked.
2025–26 Individual Season Grades - Regular Season + Playoffs Combined
96 pts (45G–51A) · 2nd-highest scoring season in franchise history · 5G in R1 playoffs · top-10 NHL in 8 categories
The grade is for everything he did across 88 games in 2025-26. Ninety-six regular-season points on a team that missed the conference final is the definition of an individual carrying a franchise on his back through a regular season that demanded it. Five playoff goals - the team's highest - against a team that advanced to the second round confirms his individual form carried through April. Robertson is not the reason the Stars lost. He is the reason they were there to lose.
45G · first teammate in franchise history alongside Robertson to both score 40+ in the same season · 4G in R1
At 22 years old, Johnston scored 45 goals and made history alongside his winger. Four playoff goals in a six-game loss is the mark of a player who competed when others around him didn't. The A-minus is for a regular season that was genuinely elite and a playoff performance that was the team's second-best individual result. He and Robertson are the franchise's offensive foundation for the next eight to ten years. The supporting cast around them is the variable. They are the constant.
54A (tied team lead) · +29 team leader · 29+ min/game in playoffs · 2 playoff goals
Heiskanen's 54 assists tied Rantanen for the team lead while also producing the team's best plus-minus (+29). His playoff minutes - averaging over 29 minutes per game in the series against Minnesota, the most of any active NHL defenceman in that matchup - reflected the degree to which Glen Gulutzan trusted him to play in every important situation. His two playoff goals were among only six produced by non-Robertson/Johnston players. The B-plus is for a complete season from the most important individual on this blue line.
34-35W · 4th consecutive 35+ win season · franchise shutouts (2) in final week · not the problem in R1
The only active NHL goaltender to have won 35-plus games in four consecutive seasons. Oettinger's final week of the regular season - two shutouts in five days - was the form that the franchise needed entering April. His playoff performance was adequate against a Minnesota team that was competitive and well-structured. He was not the reason the series was lost. The even-strength scoring drought in front of him was. The B-minus reflects the overall body of work: consistent, reliable, franchise-calibre, not responsible for the exit.
22G–54A regular season · 1 goal in 6 playoff games · injuries impacted the second half
The most damaging individual discrepancy of the Stars' season. Twenty-two regular-season goals, one playoff goal. Rantanen's post-series media availability referenced injuries that impacted the second half of the season and the playoffs - context that matters but does not fully explain a player who produced at his level in the regular season being effectively absent in the series. His 54 assists demonstrate the playmaking quality that made him worth acquiring. The goal drought in the series against Minnesota is the specific failure that the grade must reflect regardless of context.
Third consecutive 50-win season · franchise records · navigated injury-plagued roster · first year back since 2017-18
He inherited a franchise with high expectations and delivered another 50-win campaign despite significant injury disruption. The franchise records produced in 2025-26 under his direction are genuine achievements. The playoff series loss - and specifically the even-strength depth problem that has now manifested across two consecutive playoff runs - is the specific tactical question that the offseason must answer. His first year back produced the regular-season result the franchise needed. The second year must produce a playoff result.
Combined 6 goals in R1 · 3 from non-top-6 forwards across entire series · even-strength drought
The collective grade for what the Dallas depth produced in the six-game series is the most important individual critique of the roster construction. Six goals from everyone not named Robertson, Johnston, Rantanen, Duchene, or Heiskanen is not competitive playoff depth for a team with the third-best record in the NHL. Benn's limitations were visible; Hintz's injury status was disclosed after the season. The grade is for outcomes. The reasons behind the outcomes - injuries, system, personnel - are the offseason's diagnostic challenge.
| Player | POS | GP | G | A | PTS | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Robertson | LW | 82 | 45 | 51 | 96 | 2nd-highest season in franchise history · 5G in R1 · top-10 NHL in 8 categories |
| Wyatt Johnston | C | ~82 | 45 | - | ~80 | First Dallas teammate to join Robertson in 40+ goals same season · 4G in R1 |
| Miro Heiskanen | D | ~78 | - | 54 | ~65 | +29 (team leader) · 54A tied team lead · 29+ min/game in R1 playoffs |
| Mikko Rantanen | LW | ~75 | 22 | 54 | ~76 | 54A tied team lead · 22 RS goals to 1 playoff goal · injury-impacted 2nd half |
| Matt Duchene | C | ~78 | 16 | - | ~50 | 16 RS goals · 2 R1 goals · depth scoring question |
| Mavrik Bourque | C/W | ~80 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 2nd NHL season · 1 playoff goal (one of only 3 non-top-5 scorers in R1) |
| Jake Oettinger | G | ~55 | - | - | 34-35W | 4th straight 35+ W season · 2 shutouts final week · not the R1 problem |
| Casey DeSmith | G | ~28 | - | - | 15W | 2.34 GAA (team best) · tied career high wins · reliable backup |
“It was a good test for us, kind of getting us ready for the playoffs.”
— Jason Robertson, after the regular-season finale win over St. Louis that secured the second seed - a statement that did not age well when Minnesota won four of six
The honest assessment of Dallas's 2025-26 season requires holding two truths simultaneously. The regular season was one of the franchise's finest: third in the NHL, franchise records, Robertson and Johnston making history together, a 6-1 closing run that suggested peak form entering the postseason. The playoff series was a failure against a team the Stars were substantially favoured to beat, produced by a specific and recurring structural problem - even-strength depth scoring - that has now manifested in consecutive postseasons.
Jim Nill's summer is defined by one question: how do you add the depth scoring that makes Robertson and Johnston's production enough to win rather than just enough to compete? The answer is not trading Robertson or Johnston. It is finding the third and fourth forward lines that convert even-strength opportunities into goals when Rantanen and Duchene are being shut down. Minnesota found a way to shut down the Stars' most important contributors beyond the top two. Until Dallas finds forwards who cannot be shut down in the same way, the gap between their regular-season excellence and their playoff results will continue to be the most frustrating story they tell every May.
Browse the full set at Season Reviews. Previous in series: #12 Pittsburgh Penguins.
Season Review Verdict
Third in the NHL. Three straight 50-win seasons. Robertson and Johnston making franchise history together. Then one playoff goal from Rantanen and six combined from everyone else outside the top two, and Minnesota went home celebrating the biggest upset of the first round.
The B-minus is the gap between an elite regular season and a playoff exit that the regular-season form did not predict. Fifty wins for the third year running is a franchise first. The 24-9-8 road record is the best in Stars history. The 28 one-goal wins led the NHL. Robertson's 96 points and Johnston's 45 goals are the offensive foundation for the next decade. None of that prevented a six-game first-round loss to a team that played better hockey when it mattered.
The structural problem - even-strength depth scoring disappearing in consecutive postseasons - is the offseason's defining diagnostic challenge. Jim Nill and Glen Gulutzan know exactly what the series exposed. They were saying it in their break-up day media availability. The fix is the work of the summer: more forwards who score five-on-five when Robertson and Johnston are bottled up. Rantanen and Duchene need to be the second wave, not the only other wave.
The window is open. Robertson is 25. Johnston is 22. Heiskanen is 26. Oettinger is 27. The core that produced the third-best regular season in the league is locked in for the years that should matter most. The 2025-26 season was the year the regular-season form caught up with the franchise's expectations. The 2026-27 season has to be the year the playoff form catches up with the regular season.