Back at the beginning of the night, the Stars were unable to get much offense going on a first-period power play, but the penalty kill survived Jamie Benn's double minor for high-sticking Valeri Nichushkin to keep the game scoreless through 20 minutes.

The second team to reach Round 2 also happens to be Carolina's next opponent: the East's No. 1-seeded Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin and the Caps made it out of the first round for the first time since their 2018 Stanley Cup title run by eliminating the wild-card Montreal Canadiens in five games.

The No. 1 adage of any given hockey game, "Anything can happen," also applies to the NHL playoffs. On Thursday night, the Dallas Stars were unfortunately on the losing side of a freak play that could be considered the worst own goal of the NHL season so far.