Stars win, oust Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets

Thomas Harley scored on a power play 1:33 into overtime as the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference finals for the third season in a row, beating the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game 6 on Saturday night.

Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets hours after the unexpected death of his father but also had a tripping penalty with 14.8 seconds left in regulation that set up the Stars to start overtime with a man advantage.

Sam Steel, who had scored earlier for Dallas, was on a break when Scheifele lunged forward desperately trying to make a play and tripped up the forward at the blue line. The Stars called a timeout but missed a shot and had another one blocked before the end of regulation.

The winning goal continued a magical season for Harley, Dallas' breakout blueliner who played for Team Canada this season in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"Not surprising to the guys in here," Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger said of Harley's rise to prominence. "We're very lucky."

The Stars move on to face the Edmonton Oilers in the West finals for the second year in a row and will host Game 1 on Wednesday. Connor McDavid and his club, which won in six games last year, wrapped up their second-round series with a 1-0 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night in Game 5.

Oettinger made 22 saves to tally his sixth playoff series win over the past three seasons. He made an incredible diving save with 8½ minutes left in regulation, leaning to the right before having to lunge back across his body toward the left post to knock down a shot by Mason Appleton.

Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 18 shots but couldn't prevent a loss that assured a winless record for his club on the road this postseason.

"I'm just disappointed," Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry said. "We couldn't get that [penalty] kill for [the fans] and get it back to win in Winnipeg for Game 7. But you know, [I'm] really proud of this group and the way they handled everything and the way we fought back. ... It just came up short."

The Jets join a long line of Presidents' Trophy winners to bow out early. The award, which goes to the NHL's top regular-season team, was won by the New York Rangers last season before they lost in the Eastern Conference finals. Two years ago, the No. 1 seed Boston Bruins lost in the first round to the Florida Panthers.

"We lost to a great team," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. "We lost to a team that was in our rearview mirror all year long."

Scheifele's effort was a focus for Dallas coach Pete DeBoer, who began his postgame media availability by saying what the Jets star forward did in playing Saturday was "courageous," adding "I'm sure his dad would've been really proud of him and what he did."

For the Stars, it's off to the NHL's final four, as the franchise continues to seek its second Stanley Cup title.

"I think we've got something special going on. We're going to have to prove it again," DeBoer said. "You know, we've been to this spot the last two years and haven't taken the next step, so that's the challenge."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.