The Dallas Stars closed the regular season with a wild 6-5 comeback win in Toronto on Monday, a rally powered by Mavrik Bourque’s first NHL hat trick and three assists from Matt Duchene. The victory keeps Dallas rolling into the playoffs with momentum and leaves the club set to open its first-round series against the Minnesota Wild at the American Airlines Center. Even with seeding already locked in, veterans said the late-season fight still matters as preparation for what comes next.
Matt Duchene framed the games as low-stakes but praised the group for refusing to mail it in. “It's like a preseason game, to be honest with you,” he said, and later added that he gives the team “a lot of credit for still battling through because we easily could have packed it in.” The quotes and Duchene’s assessment were reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Mavrik Bourque completed the comeback with his first career hat trick, scoring the go-ahead goal late in the third as Dallas erased 3-0 and 5-3 deficits to win 6-5, while Casey DeSmith made 22 saves. Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston and Arttu Hyry also factored into the rally, and Duchene finished the night with three assists. The game recap at ESPN has the full box score and play-by-play.
Home Ice And What’s Next
Dallas clinched home ice for the first round earlier in the weekend and will welcome the Minnesota Wild to the American Airlines Center for Game 1, according to league coverage at NHL.com. The Stars still have a regular-season finale at Buffalo before the postseason begins, and the coach and players will use the final game to sharpen details and manage the lineup for the road ahead. For Dallas fans, the takeaway is clear: momentum and health heading into a Central Division matchup that promises physical playoff hockey.
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