Oettinger, Stars have 3rd chance they waited for by advancing to West final again in NHL playoffs

DALLAS (AP) — This is the third chance that goalie Jake Oettinger and the Dallas Stars have been waiting for the past year.

The Stars are back in the Western Conference final for the third season in a row and facing a familiar opponent in Edmonton. They want to still be playing after that this time.

“I think we’ve learned a lot the last two years. That’s all we wanted after we lost last year, is this opportunity,” Oettinger said. “The fact that we get to play Edmonton again makes it even better. … It’s up to us as a group to take the next step.”

Dallas advanced again with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 6 of their second-round series against Winnipeg, and host the Oilers in Game 1 on Wednesday night.

The Stars lost in six games in each of the past two West finals to fall short of playing for the Stanley Cup — they won that for the only time in 1999, and were runner-ups in 2000 and 2020. Before losing in the West last year to superstar Connor McDavid and the Oilers, it was Vegas in 2023 when the Golden Knights were on the way to their only Cup title.

“I think we’ve still got another gear,” said Miro Heiskanen, the standout defenseman who has been back for only three games since missing 3 ½ months with a left knee injury.

Stars players had the first of consecutive days without practice Sunday. It is a much-needed break after wrapping up the second round series against Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg on Saturday night, following a seven-game series against a Colorado team that many considered a Stanley Cup favorite.

To get this far last year, the Stars had to beat the previous two Cup champions.

“Yeah, it’s hard to believe we’re halfway, right?,” third-year Stars coach Pete DeBoer said with a laugh. “It sure feels like we’ve been through a lot, but that’s the beauty of the NHL playoffs. We’ll take a couple days. I think we’ve got a lot left. I’ve said it here, I think we’ve got something special going on. We’re gonna have to prove it again. We’ve been to this spot the last two years and haven’t taken the next step, so that’s the challenge.”

Defenseman Thomas Harley scored on a power play 1:33 into overtime of Game 6 on Saturday night to eliminate the Jets, and keep Dallas from having to go back to Canada for Game 7.

The Oilers will go a week between games after ending their second-round series with a 1-0 overtime win in Game 5 over Vegas last Wednesday night. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were the NHL's only 100-point teammates in the regular season, and have kept scoring in the playoffs — McDavid with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) and Draisaitl with 16 (five goals, 11 assists).

“Boy, I don’t know if you ever ask to play Draisaitl and McDavid,” DeBoer said. “But we knew going in, what a gauntlet of teams. … The way this has rolled out sure hasn’t been easy.”

Stars forward Mikko Rantanen is still the NHL playoffs leader with 19 points (nine goals), even with no goals and only one assist in the last three games against Winnipeg.

Oettinger has a .919 save percentage this postseason, including a spectacular lunging save late in regulation that kept Game 6 against the Jets tied. The latest of the 26-year-old goalie's six playoff series wins came against two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, the odds-on favorite to win that top goalie award again this season and who Oettinger backed up for USA Hockey during this year's 4 Nations Face-Off.

“Our goaltending’s been exceptional. He just went head-to-head with maybe the MVP of the league, and what everyone is saying is the best goaltender in the world. And he probably was this year, in Hellebuyck,” DeBoer said. “And he went toe-to-toe with him, nose-to-nose with him the entire series. Great character, gut-check by Jake. And he’s delivering at a real key time for us.”

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

Dallas Stars' Esa Lindell (23) takes control of the puck after a save by goaltender Jake Oettinger, rear, in the third period of Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets in Dallas, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Stars' Thomas Harley (55) celebrates with teammates after harley scored in overtime of Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets in Dallas, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger warms up before Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets in Dallas, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Stars' Mason Marchment (27), Cody Ceci (44) and Thomas Harley, right, celebrate Harley's goal in overtime of Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets in Dallas, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)