The Dallas Stars dropped Game 5 of their second-round matchup with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. The Stars had a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals for a third straight season. However, Winnipeg dominated the game and extended their season for one more game. As a result, Matt Duchene has another chance to end his playoff slump.

Duchene was a big part of Dallas's playoff run last season. In fact, he scored the goal that eliminated one of his former teams, the Colorado Avalanche, in the second round. This year, though, it's been a different story. The Stars forward has no goals and only five assists in 12 postseason contests. Despite the lack of scoring, Duchene is not worried in the slightest.

“Obviously, you want to help your team win,” he said, via NHL.com's Tracey Myers. “I'm doing a lot of good things out there. You make five or six plays for Grade-As and it doesn't go, what can you do? Just keep going. It'll go at some point.”

Stars' Matt Duchene is confident slump will end soon

Dallas Stars center Matt Duchene (95) skates against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period in game one of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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Duchene is one of the best value signings in the NHL today. He signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Stars last offseason. After that contract expired, he elected to return to Texas on another one-year, $3 million contract. In these two seasons, the veteran forward has scored 55 goals and 147 points across 162 games. This includes an 82-point season in 2024-25.

There is a reason Duchene feels confident in his ability. He has shown that he can make a major impact on the game even late in his career. His experience is also a reason for the former third overall pick to believe in his skillset.

“I've had a million hot streaks and a million slumps in my career. I've played a long time,” he said, via Myers. “It's all about putting your best game out on the ice and I thought our line had a lot of good looks tonight and easily could have been the difference. It'll go here one of these days. Hopefully the dam breaks and away we go.”

The Stars are looking to make their third straight Western Conference Final. Eliminating the Jets in Game 6 on Saturday is the main focus for everyone involved. Duchene breaking out with a big performance would give Dallas a massive momentum boost for the West Final should they advance.