2024 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview: Stars vs. Golden Knights

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Let’s rewind about 11 months, shall we?

It’s Game 1 of the 2023 Western Conference final and the Dallas Stars are in Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena furiously pursuing an equalizing goal in the final minutes of the third period. With Jake Oettinger on the bench for an extra attacker, Miro Heiskanen one-times a shot Knights goalie Adin Hill stops, but can’t smother. Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz fish for the loose puck in the crease and eventually it squirts over to captain Jamie Benn at the side of the net.

3-3 game with 119 seconds to go.

Now flash forward 48 hours to Game 2. This time it’s the road team clinging to a 2-1 advantage in the late stages of the game while Vegas tries to mount a comeback. Stars D-man Ryan Suter is a little too casual with a backhand rim behind his own net and Ivan Barbashev picks it up on the half wall and immediately scoots it down to Jack Eichel in the corner. Eichel, in turn, whizzes a backhand pass to a streaking Jonathan Marchessault in the slot and, bang, the one-timer beats Oettinger and we’re all square with just 2:22 remaining in the third.

The problem for Dallas is, while both squads were guilty of blowing a late lead early in the West final, the same team found the net in each overtime. In fact, Vegas needed a total of just 2:47 of extra time to claim both Games 1 and 2.

First, unlikely hero Brett Howden banked one off Oettinger from behind the net on a disjointed play 1:35 into Game 1’s fourth period. Two nights later, it was Chandler Stephenson snapping home a rebound from an Alec Martinez shot just 1:12 into overtime to give Vegas a 2-0 series lead.

The Knights, of course, went on to win the series in six games, then the Cup five contests later.

But how might things have been different had Dallas been able to steal one — if not two — of those first two clashes on the road?

Jump ahead to the current moment and you can see how there might be some unhealed scar tissue for the Stars as they prepare to face the team that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs in the first round of the 2024 derby.

But things are obviously different now, with Dallas holding home-ice advantage and entering the West draw as the top seed.

Still, does anybody really expect this series to play out like a typical clash between a No. 1 seed and a final team to clear the playoff bar?

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It all comes down to this: 16 teams, one trophy. Watch every game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs live on Sportsnet+, beginning on April 20.

Broadcast schedule


Stars Outlook: Is there a club better positioned to compete right now, two years from now and five years from now than Dallas?

The Stars are like a Tex-Mex seven-layer dip, with veteran players, in-their-prime guys and emerging talents all coming together to form something delicious.

And they’ve absolutely got what it takes to win in 2024.

The Stars’ trip to the final four last year provided valuable experience for young guys like Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley, who now already have three series’ worth of experience under their belts. Both those players took huge steps as NHL sophomores and will be better positioned to help the Stars win this spring.

And, don’t forget, Dallas went to the final in the 2020 bubble playoffs, giving the likes of Heiskanen and Hintz a close-up look at what it takes to go all the way.

Dallas is an incredibly balanced squad, evidenced by the fact they had a league-best eight guys net at least 20 goals. Basically, name your category — traditional or advanced — and the Stars likely rank in the top 10.

Among active coaches, only Tampa’s Jon Cooper (86) has more post-season wins than Dallas bench boss Pete DeBoer (78).

Golden Knights Outlook: It’s been a trying year for the Golden Knights, who nabbed the Western Conference’s final playoff berth one year after winning a title. The injury bug hit the team hard — lead horses Shea Theodore, Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo all missed at least 18 contests — but, naturally, that didn’t stop GM Kelly McCrimmon from aggressively pursuing high-end talent ahead of the trade deadline and coming away with a top-four defenceman in Noah Hanifin and a serious top-six forward in Tomas Hertl to go along with support scorer Anthony Mantha.

That created all kinds of carping about LTIR-based salary cap manipulation by the Knights, but Vegas and its supporters couldn’t care less about other fans’ teeth-gnashing.

Hill wound up being the guy to backstop Vegas to the Cup last spring, but he’s got an .882 save percentage in 18 games since the all-star break compared to a .914 mark for Logan Thompson in 15 outings. Maybe, one year after getting hurt during a great rookie campaign, Thompson will get a chance to begin the second season in the crease.

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ADVANCED STATS

(5-on-5 totals via Natural Stat Trick)


REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS


Stars X-Factor: Two years ago, Oettinger nearly stole a series against the Calgary Flames when Dallas was a wild card team. Last year, he finished fifth in Vezina voting. For chunks of this season, though, the 25-year-old American struggled to find the best version of himself and spent about a month on the shelf in the dead of winter with a groin injury.

Well, Oettinger is starting to look like the guy who nearly knocked out the Flames in 2022. Since March 20, the Stars starter has a .941 save percentage in 11 outings. If he can carry that form into the big dance, that sound you hear might be the final puzzle piece snapping into place for Dallas.

Golden Knights X-Factor: Will captain Stone, for the second straight April, be ready to go in the playoffs after an extended absence? Last year it was back issues that troubled him and this time out it’s a lacerated spleen that’s had him and his $9.5-million cap hit on the sidelines since Feb. 20. Stone resumed practicing in a non-contact sweater about a week ago, but there is no timetable for his return just yet.

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POSSIBLE GAME1 LINEUP

Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson-Roope Hintz-Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment-Tyler Seguin-Matt Duchene
Jamie Benn-Wyatt Johnston-Logan Stankoven
Craig Smith-Radek Faksa-Sam Steel

Thomas Harley-Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell-Chris Tanev
Ryan Suter-Nils Lundkvist

Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood

Vegas Golden Knights

Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Jonathan Marchessault
Chandler Stephenson-Tomas Hertl-Michael Amadio
Pavel Dorofeyev-William Karlsson-Anthony Mantha
Paul Cotter-Nicolas Roy-Brett Howden

Noah Hanifin-Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore
Alec Martinez-Nicolas Hague

Logan Thompson
Adin Hill


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