The Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets will begin what should be an excellent series Wednesday night when the Jets host the Stars at Canada Life Centre.

While this matchup between two powerhouses looked fairly plausible all season, it took stunning comebacks from both sides in their respective Game 7s over the weekend to get here. Both sides have two critical skaters that are considered game-time decisions for the series opener, as Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson both have a chance of returning for the Stars, while Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey could be back in the lineup for the Jets.

I’ll detail the relevant game notes, as well as outline my favourite betting angle below.

The Stars limped into the playoffs in the midst of a seven-game losing skid and with two critical skaters, Heiskanen and Robertson, on the IR. Their level of play had dropped off quite considerably even prior to their losing streak, which came with the team having no real motivation to win, as they allowed 3.72 xGA/60 over the last month of play and a league-high 34.55 shots against per 60.

The Stars deserve plenty of credit for finding a way to get past a Colorado Avalanche team which was thought to be a true Stanley Cup contender, without arguably their two best players. It wasn’t exactly pretty, though, as the Avalanche did look to be the better team overall in the series but failed to finish chances in the most critical moments of several games.

The Stars held an expected goal share of just 41.96% in Round 1, which was the second-worst mark of any of the 16 teams, and were visibly outplayed in the majority of the seven games. Jake Oettinger was able to outperform Mackenzie Blackwood to some extent, while the Stars’ highly skilled offensive core was able to finish 11.23% of its shots on goal compared to the Avs’ mark of 9.84.

Based on Tuesday’s practice, it appears as though Robertson is likely to return to the lineup in this game and will skate on an absurdly talented third line alongside Wyatt Johnston and Mason Marchment. With Robertson back in the mix, the Stars’ offensive depth is arguably the best in the league, and it’s the depth of the team’s blue line that looks far less convincing if Heiskanen is to remain sidelined.

If Heiskanen can return at a high level, it would provide a very significant boost to the Stars’ chances based on replacement value. He is capable of handling a massive workload, and many of the players attempting to fill the void have struggled mightily.

Thomas Harley has been absolutely incredible in the time since Heiskanen’s injury, and has emerged as a legitimate No. 1 defender. He was excellent in Round 1, recording five points across seven games, while offering the greatest impact of any Stars defender by a wide margin.

The Stars kept Esa Lindell and Cody Ceci together on the second pairing at practice on Tuesday, a duo that held an expected goal share of just 34% versus the Avalanche and allowed 87.18 shot attempts per 60.

Oettinger has been a strong playoff performer throughout his career and got off to a strong start in Round 1 with a +2.9 GSAx rating and .911 save percentage.

It would be difficult to find a grittier, more impressive team win than the Jets offered in Game 7 of their series versus the Blues. Winnipeg lost its best defender, Morrissey, in the first period and was forced to play with five defenders for the vast majority of the double-overtime thriller.

Connor Hellebuyck let in another complete softie midway through the first, which stretched the Blues’ lead to two goals. That type of goal is extremely tough to overcome this time of year when games are so tightly contested, but the Jets were able to dig deep and find a way.

There were a number of positives to point towards from the Jets win, which could prove impactful moving forward. Neal Pionk was highly effective despite spending a whopping 46:15 of time-on-ice, while Haydn Fleury played the game of his life after being thrust into a key role due to Morrissey’s absence and may prove worthy of a full-time role moving forward.

Hellebuyck looked far more aggressive and confident after letting in the 3-1 goal late in the second, stopping the final 15 shots he faced before Adam Lowry’s eventual winner. The Jets found a way past the Blues despite Hellebuyck’s shaky play, but they will likely need their Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender in top form to be able to find a way past the Stars in this series.

Based on today’s morning skate, it appears as though Scheifele will return to his regular roles on the top line and top power play, while Morrissey and Logan Stanley will remain out of the lineup.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the series opener plays out, as there are plenty of question marks left to be answered entering this series.

The Jets were much more sound defensively than the Stars were in Round 1 but were facing a much lesser opponent, a right they obviously earned by emerging as the Central Division champion. The Stars have the offensive firepower to continue finding success against the run of play, but their blue line is still quite concerning, with several below-average skaters in the lineup.

Winnipeg was able to overcome the loss of Morrissey effectively in Game 7, but he is the team’s best defender and leaves a huge void. It’s realistic to count on Hellebuyck playing at a higher level in this series, and whether or not he plays like he did in Round 1, or as he did in the regular season, adds a large wrinkle of volatility to this series.

Those who follow me in the Action Network app may have seen that I did recommend betting the Stars when they opened at -110, but with Scheifele set to return and the line now at -120, I’m more neutral in terms of sides.

Backing Harley to record a point at +100 does look to be one bet providing value entering this matchup, so long as Heiskanen does not make a surprising return and take over his role on the top power-play unit. Harley recorded a single point in five of seven games versus Colorado after putting up 24 points in the 27 games that followed the 4 Nations Face-Off.