Benn and the Stars again fall short of a Stanley Cup shot after 3rd West final in a row

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars have done what no other team has over the past three decades while reaching three conference finals in a row.

They failed to win a Stanley Cup during their run. They didn't even give themselves the opportunity to play for one.

“Three years in a row now, you get that close and you come up short ... obviously not a good feeling,” 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 lost 6-3 in Game 5 at home Thursday night.

“Every year you learn new things. This is not the end goal for us,” said Wyatt Johnston, who at 22 has already been to three West finals. “You 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’s good that you can learn from it, but we want to win.”

Edmonton advanced to a Stanley Cup rematch 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 — 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.

“You’ve got to keep knocking on the door,” DeBoer said. “It’s 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."

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 6-3 win in Game 1 against the Oilers.

“I think we played two good rounds and then they made it hard on us,” Mikko Rantanen said. “Maybe just give credit to them. They defended really well.”

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.

Stars general manager Jim Nill has said Benn has earned the right to continue to be a part of the team as long as he wants. This was the end of the captain's $76 million, eight-year contract extension.

Asked in the locker room Thursday night if he had any thoughts about his future, Benn softly responded, “No.”

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’s 1,192 regular-season games, 399 goals and 956 points. He has played in 120 postseason games.

“He’s our captain, he’s our leader. He’s a guy that we follow every day,” Johnston said. "Just such an important part of our team on the ice, off the ice, and just an amazing person.”

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

Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson reacts after losing Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Stars' Mikko Rantanen (96) and Edmonton Oilers' Evander Kane, top, battle for the puck during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn shoots as the Winnipeg Jets bench looks on in the third period of Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Dallas, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer stands behind players on the bench during the second period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

ATLANTA (AP) — Four years ago, Democrat Stacey Abrams commanded the spotlight with her campaign for Georgia governor, dumping millions of dollars into the race as the media followed her every move.

But there is little of that energy so far in 2026. Even though Democrats may have a better shot at winning, there is far less attention and money as their candidates compete for the nomination in next month's primary.

Their struggles raise the possibility that the Democrats could miss another chance to win the Georgia governor's office for the first time since 1998.

National Democrats say they are not going to let that happen. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, said Georgia is “in play” and the money will be there for the party's eventual nominee.

“We’re going to make sure the Democratic candidate in Georgia has the funding they need to compete,” Beshear told The Associated Press on Saturday as he visited Atlanta to keynote a party dinner.

While Republicans have flooded the state with nearly $100 million in advertising, Democrats have spent only $1.24 million. Most observers believe no Democrat will win a majority in the rapidly approaching May 19 primary, prolonging the party's uncertainty.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms could be headed toward a June 16 runoff, thanks to superior name identification and being the only Black woman running in a party that has historically relied on support from Black women. But the scramble for a second spot appears wide-open, with likely contenders including former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves and former state labor commissioner and CEO of suburban DeKalb County Mike Thurmond.

On the Republican side, health care billionaire Rick Jackson has already spent or pledged $50 million toward his bid, twice as much as any previous primary candidate for Georgia governor. There is also Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump; Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; and Attorney General Chris Carr.

It is a contrast to 2022, when Abrams outraised Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. She ended up losing the race, her second defeat to Kemp.

But Democrats say they are not worried this year even if they are outspent.

“I'll still win,” Bottoms said after a campaign event Monday, echoing other Democrats who say money can't paper over voter discontent with Republicans.

She argues that she is a “battle-tested leader” who gained national experience in President Joe Biden's administration. Like other Democrats, she cites expanding health care, affordable housing and better education as among her top issues.

“When given the opportunity to lead, I led on behalf of not just the city of Atlanta, but people across the state, and I am ready to go and fight for all of our communities to make Georgia a better place for our children,” Bottoms said Wednesday.

The Democratic race doesn’t feature notable policy splits along the lines of the progressive-moderate fissures that have opened around the country. It is not even a clear-cut contrast on style like in the Texas Senate primary that James Talarico won over Jasmine Crockett. Only Esteves, who started nearly unknown statewide, has been willing to attack the other candidates.

The noncombative nature of the other candidates was on display Wednesday night in a televised debate that included only Bottoms, Duncan and Thurmond. Duncan made only the most oblique criticisms of Bottoms' record as mayor. After Thurmond blamed Duncan for supporting a bill allowing people to carry guns more widely, he said in a postdebate interview that the criticism wasn't aimed at Duncan directly.

Esteves is banking on a late surge to propel him to the runoff. He has spent about $1 million on a burst of advertising, the only significant spending by any Democrat thus far. The 42-year-old, who is Black and Puerto Rican, argues he can build the “multiracial, multigenerational coalition" needed to win the young and diverse electorate in Georgia.

He often references his experience as a middle school teacher and small business owner in addition to his time as a lawyer, school board member and state senator.

“A lot of the challenges that Georgians are facing, I am facing in real time,” Esteves said in a Wednesday interview. “They’re looking for someone who not only wants to solve their issues, but can identify personally with their issues.”

Esteves is the only Democrat attacking Bottoms on how she managed crime, disorder and the COVID pandemic as mayor before her surprise decision not to seek a second term.

“The fact that she did not run for reelection confirmed people’s belief that when the going gets tough, she stepped out on the city,” Esteves said.

Bottoms defends her stewardship and says she declined to run again “based on what was best for me personally and my family."

Esteves has also repeatedly taken aim at Duncan, saying Duncan “oversaw some of the passage of the worst bills” while lieutenant governor, including Georgia’s ban on abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected. Although dozens of state lawmakers are backing Esteves, his top surrogate has been Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, a woman who died in a suburban Atlanta hospital in 2022 after taking abortion pills and developing an infection.

Duncan is best known for opposing Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. He has spent the past year apologizing for his Republican past and argues he is the only Democrat who can win over enough moderate voters to give his new party a win. In recent weeks, Duncan has begun to pick up some endorsements from moderate Democrats and unions.

“I don’t want to only earn your vote, I want to earn your trust,” Duncan said in Wednesday night's debate.

Thurmond calls himself a “throwback” and says his experience in state and local government, including leading the state child welfare agency, serving as labor commissioner and helping to bail out the DeKalb County school district as superintendent, would let him move quickly to enact Democratic priorities.

“I have a track record of service to the people of Georgia, and I believe this election would turn not on promises, but on performance,” Thurmond said in an interview after Wednesday's debate.

Mike Thurmond, a Democrat running for governor in Georgia, speaks to reporters after a debate on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at WXIA-TV in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)