Dallas Stars find out their playoff opponent after losing to the Winnipeg Jets

Someone tainted the Stars' locker room last night and might have cursed the Stars tonight. It could be why almost the whole team decided to take the night off tonight.

You would waste money if you bought stock in the Dallas Stars before the playoffs. The Stars have not done well in the last three games, and it didn't look like they did much better against the Winnipeg Jets. It was pretty evident who the Stars would take on in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after the second period. The Winnipeg Jets would beat the Stars 4-0 as they clinched the Central Division title this season. This is the first time the Stars have been shut out all season. That happens when you don't handle the teams you should beat.

The Stars will use their final three games to get their kinks worked out before taking on Gabe Landeskog and the Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. They will be a tougher team than last year's team. The Stars also found out tonight that a certain young defenseman would have been helpful, based on how the defense performed. Here are the four takeaways from tonight's loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

Dallas Stars vs. Winnipeg Jets Recap: 4. Nils Lundkvist would have been helpful tonight

The Dallas Stars discovered tonight that Nils Lundkvist would have taken down the Jets' offense. Esa Lindell and Lundkvist were a pretty good pair together until Lundkvist got injured and had to undergo surgery. The Stars might want to save some of their salary cap to bring him back next season. Lunkvist looked a lot better this season and made some excellent improvements. The Stars should bring him back next season when he's healthy.

Dallas Stars vs. Winnipeg Jets Recap: 3. Man-to-man defense needs work

Craig Ludwig of DLLS Sports pointed this out tonight and it's pretty interesting. Teams have taken interest in exploiting the Stars' man-on-man defensive system. It seems like the Stars have given a blue print to the Avalanche on how to exploit them in the first round this season. The Stars need to work on this during practice or else they will get picked apart easily. I'm sure DeBoer has seen this on film but he can't wait to fix this during round 1 of the playoffs. He needs to fix it now.

Dallas Stars vs. Winnipeg Jets Recap: 2. Jake Oettinger did his job

Even though Jake Oettinger allowed two goals tonight. It wasn't his fault the Stars ended up losing. There were a lot of players who decided not to show up tonight but Oettinger kept them in the game as long as he could. The first goal that was allowed was a good deflection by Nino Niederreiter. Not much Oettinger could have done to guess how that puck was going to deflect off his stick. Also, the Stars got shutout by one of the best goaltenders in the league this season. Might as well hand Connor Hellebuyck the Vezina Trophy tonight.

Dallas Stars vs. Winnipeg Jets Recap: 1. Where's the passion?

Does anyone on the Dallas Stars care about winning right now? This is not the energy level you want heading into the first round of the playoffs. Good lord, their energy level was so bad tonight. Winnipeg walked into the American Airlines Center, sat in a cozy recliner, and ate out of the Stars' pantry. There was no passion about defending home ice tonight. The Stars might as well give the Colorado Avalanche home-ice advantage. Stars are back home on Saturday against the Utah Hockey Club.

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