Golden Knights learn opponent for Western Conference Final
A familiar face will stand between the Golden Knights and their chance at reaching a second Stanley Cup Final.
The Knights will play former coach Pete DeBoer and the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday at T-Mobile Arena. The Stars advanced by defeating the Seattle Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 of their second-round series Monday.
DeBoer coached the Knights from 2020 to 2022, going 98-50-12 while reaching two NHL semifinals. He was fired May 16, 2022, after the team missed the playoffs last season for the first time in franchise history.
DeBoer was hired by the Stars less than a month later. Dallas is the fourth team he’s led to at least a conference final. He’s 7-0 in Game 7s after Monday’s win.
The Knights hired Bruce Cassidy, who joined DeBoer at the 2023 All-Star Game and is 59-25-9 between the regular season and playoffs.
The Knights went 0-1-2 against Dallas this season. This is the second time they will face the Stars in the playoffs and the second time they will do so in the Western Conference Final. Dallas defeated the Knights in five games in 2020, then lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
This year’s Stars team has won two rounds because of impressive balance within their lineup and overall game. Dallas scored the seventh-most goals in the NHL in the regular season and allowed the third-fewest. The Stars also ranked fifth on the power play and third on the penalty kill.
Dallas boasts one of the NHL’s top lines in left wing Jason Robertson, center Roope Hintz and right wing Joe Pavelski. The Stars also have gotten more secondary scoring from rookie Wyatt Johnston, free-agent signing Mason Marchment and trade deadline acquisitions Max Domi and Evgenii Dadonov, a former Knight.
The Stars’ blue line is led by 2017 third overall pick Miro Heiskanen. The 23-year-old is averaging 27:56 of ice time in the playoffs, the second-most in the NHL behind the Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty.
Dallas also has a workhorse in net in Jake Oettinger. The 24-year-old played in 62 games, tied for the third-most in the league.
Oettinger is 4-0 in his career against the Knights with one shutout and a .960 save percentage.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
