Glen Gulutzan was ready to be coach of Dallas Stars this time after 12 seasons gaining experience

DALLAS (AP) — Glen Gulutzan was ready to be the head coach of the Dallas Stars this time.

There was a lot of experience Gulutzan gained in the 12 years between being let go by the Stars after his first two seasons as an NHL head coach and being re-hired last summer — by the same general manager who soon after taking that role in 2013 decided not to keep him.

“He’s lived it. How do you build your resume, you’ve got to go through experiences,” Stars GM Jim Nill said. “He’s gone through those experiences and those situations."

The 54-year-old Gulutzan is now leading the Stars (50-20-12) into the Western Conference playoffs. Game 1 is at home Saturday against Central Division rival Minnesota. They wrapped up their third consecutive 50-win regular season with 112 points, the third-most in the NHL.

After the Stars fired Pete DeBoer last June, even though each of his three seasons ended in the Western Conference final, Nill brought back Gulutzan after a dozen seasons in Canada for 947 regular-season games and 93 more in the playoffs. He was a Vancouver assistant for three seasons, then the head coach in Calgary for two before seven seasons on the staff in Edmonton, which eliminated Dallas in the West final each of the past two years.

“He's got composure behind the bench. He's guided our team,” Nill said. “There's been highs and lows during the year, there's a lot of injuries he'd had to deal with. But he's gotten that experience now, how to deal with that. And it doesn't change focus. It's always about the next moment, the next game."

Gulutzan was coaching the Stars’ AHL team before becoming a first-time NHL head coach in 2011, during an awkward period for the franchise as it went through bankruptcy and an ownership change while being basically run by the league.

Dallas was 42-35-5 in Gulutzan’s debut season, then 22-22-4 in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season before Nill became the GM and didn’t pick up the coach’s option for a third season.

DeBoer has been a head coach for six different teams over 18 seasons, including the final four games for the New York Islanders this year after replacing the fired Patrick Roy.

While DeBoer has always been in charge behind the bench in the NHL, Gulutzan after his initial head coaching stint got the opportunity to work with coaches like John Tortorella, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett and Kris Knoblauch. He was part of 75 playoff games with the Oilers the past four seasons, getting to the Stanley Cup Final twice after eliminating the Stars.

Having been a depended-on assistant himself, Gulutzan now depends heavily on his staff.

Gulutzan took over a Stars team that returned most of its primary core, though the only player still around from his first time there is Jamie Benn, the 36-year-old captain in his 17th season.

Veteran center Matt Duchene said DeBoer did an amazing job laying a foundation, and that Gulutzan has done a nice job tweaking things through the course of this season.

“Just a really, really smart hockey mind that sees the game really well,” said Wyatt Johnston, the 22-year-old, fourth-year forward whose 45 goals matched Jason Robertson for the team lead.

“He’s brought in some elements to our team that have made us, when we’re at our best, probably just an elite, elite team, and I think understands our group pretty well,” Duchene said. “There’s a reason you go to three straight conference finals. It’s not by accident. You need great coaching to be able to do that. And I think Pete was that for sure and then Gully coming in ... he didn’t come in being like, all right, it’s my show now, I’m going to completely gut this and redo it.”

Under DeBoer, the Stars became the first team to reach the conference finals three seasons in a row without winning at least one Cup title under the playoff format that began in 1994. The Stars didn’t even make it past that.

The Stars had a franchise-record 10-game winning streak that ended in early March, and now have won five in a row. That's a stark difference from the seven-game losing streak they took into last year's postseason.

“The focus, that’s what I’m recognizing as very, very similar,” Gulutzan said when asked what he's seen in the Stars compared to his recent deep runs with the Oilers. “You can just feel the focus of the players starting to change the closer they get. ... Their demeanor is starting to change."

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FILE - Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan watches from the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Jan. 20, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter, File)

FILE - Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan gives instructions during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

There's a cliche that gets unearthed at this time of year, without fail, reminding everyone that a playoff series doesn't truly begin until one team wins on the other team's home floor.

If so, then the Toronto-Cleveland, Atlanta-New York and Minnesota-Denver series still haven't gotten going.

The Cavaliers, Knicks and Nuggets all held serve in their playoff openers on Saturday — and will simply look to successfully defend their home floors again when Game 2 of those series get played on Monday night.

“They did their job. They got the first game on their floor," Minnesota star guard Anthony Edwards said after the Timberwolves lost Game 1 in Denver, the resumption of what's become one of the league's top playoff rivalries in recent years. "And we’re going to do our job next game.”

Of the three road teams that will be playing on Monday, only the Timberwolves had a double-digit lead at any point in Game 1. They jumped out to a 12-point edge before Denver finally hit its stride.

“We were up against it right away. And that’s a big thing for a road team, to come out and punch the home team in the mouth,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. "That’s what they did after we missed shots. And just the reaction to that, staying together, winning a grimy game, it is good.”

Toronto's biggest lead in Game 1 at Cleveland was five points (27-22 late in the first). It didn't take long for the Cavs to assume control.

“Game 1 is important," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. "Obviously, they came in confident and they’re a physical team and talented team. But I thought, right off the bat, we set the tone. I think it’s super important.”

Atlanta's biggest lead in Game 1 at New York was just four (11-7 early) — but the Hawks were within single digits of the Knicks most of the way.

“The formula for us, and our identity, has been to run and move the ball," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. "And it’s not like we didn’t do that, but we need to do more of it. We're playing a really good team. It’s Game 1 and you take it, you watch it and we’ll see more specifically some of the things that we need do to be better.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 2, 7 p.m. EDT (Peacock/NBCSN)

Series: Cavaliers lead, 1-0.

Betting line: Cavaliers by 8.5.

What to Know: For as much as people talk about how dynamic the Cleveland backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden is (and rightly so), there's a third part of that equation now that Max Strus is back for the Cavs after missing much of the season because of injury. Strus has played in 13 games this season and scored at least 24 points in four of them, and his 24 off the bench in Game 1 basically was the deciding factor in the game. If there's one big reason for optimism on the Raptors side going into Game 2, maybe it's this: Toronto has shown the ability to regroup quickly after losses, going 18-8 in its most recent 26 games that followed a defeat.

When/Where to Watch: Game 2, 8 p.m. EDT (NBC/Peacock)

Series: Knicks lead, 1-0.

Betting line: Knicks by 5.5.

What to Know: The Hawks have gone on to lose each of their last five playoff series after dropping Game 1, with the most recent exception to that being the 2015 East semifinals against Washington. And the Knicks needed to start this series off the right way, rather than risk waking up the echoes of what was a 4-6 record in their 10 most recent playoff games at Madison Square Garden entering Saturday. Atlanta lost Game 1 by 11 points and took 11 fewer free throws than the Knicks did, a fact that Hawks fans surely noticed. New York got to the foul line 30 times for only the eighth time all season (though in fairness, six of those FTAs came in the final minute).

When/Where to Watch: Game 2, 10:30 p.m. EDT (NBC/Peacock)

Series: Nuggets lead, 1-0.

Betting line: Nuggets by 6.5.

What to Know: No teams have faced off in more playoff games than these two have since the start of the 2023 postseason; Denver is 8-5 in 13 playoff tilts vs. Minnesota in that span, with the combined score of those contests being Nuggets 1,370, Timberwolves 1,351. Game 1 of this matchup did nothing to suggest that another long series between these rivals isn't on the way. Denver had a big edge in free throws attempted (33-19) in Game 1 and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was 16 for 16 from the line (the most free throws without a miss in a playoff game since 2021). Anthony Edwards took 19 shots in Game 1 for Minnesota, and against a high-octane team like Denver the Wolves might be wondering if he needs to take more.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic looks for a foul call in the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)