Dallas Stars look to knock out Winnipeg in Game 6, and not let Hellebuyck have another shot at home

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars may just want to wrap up their second-round Western Conference series when they have a chance in Game 6, and not let Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets get another game in Winnipeg.

While the Stars have a 3-2 series lead and aren't facing elimination Saturday night at home, a loss would send them quickly back to Winnipeg for a series-deciding game. That is where Hellebuyck has back-to-back shutouts and hasn't allowed a goal to Dallas in more than 141 minutes on the ice since Mikko Rantanen's hat trick in the second period of Game 1 that was enough for a 3-2 win.

“We felt like we needed to win this one. You don’t want to give them any life at all. We don’t want to come back here for Game 7," Stars forward Matt Duchene said after their 4-0 loss Thursday night extended the series. “Obviously up 3-1 at one point, it might take seven. They’re a good enough team, it could.”

Hellebuyck and the Jets, however, have lost nine consecutive playoff road games since winning their postseason opener at Vegas in 2023, including Games 3 and 4 of this series in Dallas. The Presidents' Trophy winner has been outscored 25-8 away from home in these playoffs.

“We’ve got to win a road game," Jets captain Adam Lowry said. “We haven’t played well on the road at all this playoff, so no better time than now to start.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT (ABC)

Series: Stars lead 3-2.

The winner of this series, which will have home-ice advantage in the next round, advances to play a resting Edmonton team in the Western Conference Final. The Oilers wrapped up their second round-victory over Vegas with a 1-0 overtime win in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Dallas is trying to reach the West final for the third season in a row, and lost in six games to Edmonton last year. Winnipeg's last conference final was in 2018.

Stars captain Jamie Benn sucker-punched Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele during a late scrum in Game 5. Benn was given a misconduct penalty then, and on Friday was fined by the NHL the maximum-allowed $5,000, but avoided a suspension.

“My face hurts. There’s not much I can really say in this situation,” Scheifele said Friday before the Jets flew to Texas.

Scheifele got credited with the opening goal Thursday on a wrist shot that deflected off two Dallas players and past goaltender Jake Oettinger, who had 31 saves. The Jets had a two-man advantage after consecutive tripping periods early in the third period and went ahead 2-0 when Nikolaj Ehlers scored — he added a late empty-netter for his fifth goal in the series.

“They played with a desperation level like it was an elimination game. We’re a little bit off that," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said.

Dallas has won five home games in a row since starting the postseason against Colorado with its eighth consecutive Game 1 loss — an unexplainable streak that finally ended with the Rantanen-led win to open this series. That was after his four-point third period with a hat trick in Game 7 against the Avalanche, his former team.

If the Stars do need another Game 7 on Monday night, they have won all three they have played under DeBoer over three seasons. He is the only coach or player in NHL history to be part of nine Game 7 victories, with four different teams, and hasn't lost one.

Still, with a chance now to close out the series at home, Dallas would prefer not to have to play another one.

“We have to approach this like a Game 7, even though we have the luxury of it not being a Game 7,” DeBoer said.

The Jets, meanwhile, are trying to stave off elimination for the third time this postseason.

“It would mean that we’re not going on vacation yet,” Ehlers said. “We want to go to Dallas and win that game. ... It’s been so special to play here in front of this crowd, and we want to repay them by coming back and playing a Game 7 here.”

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Winnipeg Jets' Neal Pionk (right) checks Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn (14) during first period NHL playoff hockey action in Winnipeg, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Adam Lowry (17) and Dallas Stars players push and shove at the end of a play during third period NHL playoff hockey action in Winnipeg, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) makes a save on a Winnipeg Jets shot as Brandon Tanev (73) looks for the rebound during third period NHL playoff hockey action in Winnipeg, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) makes a save on a Dallas Stars shot as Tyler Seguin (91) and Thomas Harley (55) look for the rebound during second period NHL playoff hockey action in Winnipeg, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Vladislav Namestnikov (7) returns to the bench with teammates after scoring on the Dallas Stars during the third period of an NHL playoff hockey game in Winnipeg, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — American air defense systems and Navy assets in the Middle East helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and top military leaders, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the region capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Iran fired in multiple barrages in retaliation for Israel's initial attack.

Naval assets also were involved in assisting Israel as Iran fired missiles at Tel Aviv, one official said. It was not immediately clear if ships fired interceptors or if their advanced missile tracking systems helped Israel identify incoming targets.

The United States also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes.

The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House, U.S. officials said.

American fighter jets also are patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and air bases in the region are taking additional security precautions, the officials said.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public or to discuss ongoing operations.

President Donald Trump met with his National Security Council principals Friday to discuss options.

The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran.

Typically around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, according to a U.S. official. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

The Navy has additional assets that it could surge to the Middle East if needed, particularly its aircraft carriers and the warships that sail with them. The USS Carl Vinson is in the Arabian Sea — the only aircraft carrier in the region.

The carrier USS Nimitz is in the Indo-Pacific and could be directed toward the Middle East if needed, and the USS George Washington just left its port in Japan and could also be directed to the region if so ordered, one of the officials said.

Then-President Joe Biden initially surged ships to protect Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that launched the war in Gaza. It was seen as a deterrent against Hezbollah and Iran at the time.

On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.

FILE - Water droplets from rain and melting snow gather on the shoulder of a crew member of the the future USS Thomas Hudner, a U.S. Navy destroyer named after Korean War veteran Thomas Hudner, during the ship's christening ceremony at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, April 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)

FILE - The future USS Thomas Hudner, a U.S. Navy destroyer named after Korean War veteran Thomas Hudner, during christening ceremony at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, April 1, 2017. The ship was commissioned, Dec. 1, 2018 in Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)

A view of Jerusalem's Old City, with the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, closed to worshippers after Israel's Homefront Command banned public gatherings following an Israeli military strike on Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)