The Stars (38-27-8) are making their final stop on a season-long, six-game road trip. They are winless (0-3-2) through the first five games following a 4-2 loss in Winnipeg on Sunday.
Patrik Laine continued his career assault on Dallas, tallying twice for the Jets. He opened the scoring on a power play with less than a second remaining in the first period. It was the second time on the road trip and league-high seventh time this season that the Stars allowed a non-empty-net goal in the final 10 seconds of a period.
The teams each scored twice in the middle frame, with Dallas getting goals from Mattias Janmark and Jamie Benn, who has goals in four of his last six games. Winnipeg's goals were courtesy of Ben Chiarot and Laine's second, which stood as the eventual game-winner.
Laine extended his league-leading point streak to 15 games and moved into a tie for the NHL goal scoring lead with 43 on the season.
The Stars played arguably their best game of the trip, and their best game in a long time against the Jets, but it was not enough against the top home team in the NHL, as they dropped their eighth straight game to Winnipeg.
"The way we played was the way you have to play to beat them. We thought we did a lot of those things that you need to do and we weren't rewarded," Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We got a lot of guys that really busted today and played hard. Winnipeg's got a good team.
"They make you pay for errors that you make in your own zone. We made a couple of them and they made us pay for it."
Dallas lost more than just a game when goaltender Ben Bishop injured himself making a highlight-reel save midway through the first period. Sunday was Bishop's second game back after missing five straight with a knee injury. After the game, Hitchcock said Bishop would be re-evaluated in two weeks. Kari Lehtonen made 17 saves on 20 shots in relief and has played in seven of the last eight games.
The Stars are 1-4-3 in their last eight games. In all seven of those defeats, Dallas has been tied or within a goal in the third period.
The loss, coupled with Sunday's Anaheim win over New Jersey, knocked the Stars out of a playoff spot for the first time since before Christmas. They enter Tuesday's game two points behind Anaheim for the final wild-card spot in the West. They are part of a five-team pack separated by only three points.
"We're right there," said Janmark. "We just got to stay alive here when we're going through this tough stretch, and then I think once we can turn the page here, we can make a push. We've got to stay alive and then make a run for it."
The Stars enter Washington with a 13-game point streak (10-0-3) against the Capitals. That includes six straight wins in Washington. Their last regulation loss to the Capitals came on November 30, 2006.
Injuries:C Martin Hanzal (back) and G Ben Bishop (lower body) are out. D Marc Methot (hand) is questionable.
