The Dallas Stars prepare to face the Edmonton OIlers in the NHL Western Conference final after eliminating the last two Stanley Cup champions to begin the playoffs | News, Sports, Jobs

Stars’ Jason Robertson, right, works the puck under pressure from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Cody Ceci on April 3 in Dallas. (AP file photo)

DALLAS — The top-seeded Dallas Stars are in the Western Conference finals after eliminating the last two Stanley Cup champions, one of which featured two 100-point scorers.

Edmonton had the NHL’s only other 100-point scoring duo in the regular season, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl now among the four Oilers who are the leading scorers in these playoffs. They also had the league’s best record since late November, going 45-14-5 for the remainder of the regular season after a 5-12-1 start.

“I think people probably would have predicted Edmonton would be in the conference finals. » » said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “Since November, they have been an elite team in almost every category.”

Dallas has also been pretty good and hosts the first game tonight. This is the first playoff game between these teams since April 2003, when their sixth playoff meeting in seven years took place the month before the Stars’ leading scorer, Wyatt Johnston, was born.

After winning seven games in the first round to beat defending champion Vegas, the Stars got a few more days off after a decisive double-overtime game against 2022 champion Colorado, which had Mikko Rantanen.

and league MVP runner-up Nathan MacKinnon.

Dallas Stars right winger Denis Gurianov, right, and Tampa Bay Lightning center Cédric Paquette brawl during the first period of Game 3 of their NHL Stanley Cup final, September 23, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

This is the second year in a row that the Stars have advanced to the third round. Edmonton outlasted Vancouver in a seven-game second-round series to return to the West Final for the second time in three years, and as the Stars lost on their last trip to the eventual Cup champion.

Colorado is 1-2 this season against the Stars, with neither McDavid nor Draisaitl scoring a goal in any of those games. McDavid has only four goals in his last 15 games against Dallas.

“You have to know at all times when they are on the ice… manage the puck a little better, a little more precisely, and try not to gratuitously offend them,” » declared Stars forward Jason Robertson.

McDavid has just two goals in the playoffs, but has 19 assists in 12 games after 100 assists in the regular season. Draisaitl has a league-high 24 points in the playoffs (eight goals), while defenseman Evan Bouchard has 20 points (five goals) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 16 (four goals).

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GOALKEEPERS

Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger was off the ice early in Wednesday’s practice. DeBoer said Oettinger was “I feel a little uncomfortable” but he expects him to be fine for the first game.

Oettinger is 8-5 in the playoffs with a 2.09 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. The All-Star allowed two goals or fewer nine times, with 29 saves in the final against the Avs.

Stuart Skinner is 7-3 with a 2.87 GAA and .881 save percentage while starting 10 of the Oilers’ playoff games.

After allowing four goals on 15 shots in Game 4 against Vancouver, Skinner was replaced in the third period by Calvin Pickard, who then won Game 5 and lost Game 6. Skinner was back in net for Game 7.

“Ideally we have Skinner until the end of the season,” » said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “Because, really, does a coach change his lineup after a win, especially the starting goalie.”

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ARE THE INJURED GUYS BACK?

Edmonton forward Adam Henrique returned to practice after missing the last five games with an ankle injury. He was injured in the deciding game of Game 5 against the Los Angeles Kings. His only action since was 11 1/2 minutes in Game 2 against Vancouver.

“We think he’s very close and we expect him at the start of the series, whether it’s Game 1, 2 or 3,” » said Knoblauch.

Stars first-line center Roope Hintz left the first period of Game 4 against Colorado with an upper-body injury, missed the last two games and likely wouldn’t have played in a Game 7 .

DeBoer said Hintz “skated quite intensely” Wednesday before the Stars’ full practice, and said he would take it day by day.

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SPECIAL TEAMS

The Oilers had the best power play in the playoffs, converting 37.5% of their chances (15 of 40). They just might not get too many chances in this series.

After being the least penalized team in the NHL in the regular season with just 6.8 minutes per game, Dallas is even better in the playoffs with 5.2 minutes per game.

“The best advantage on the penalty kill is to stay out of the box. We don’t take penalties and I don’t foresee that changing,” » said DeBoer. “They create momentum from that. … Colorado had a great power play and we had to deal with it. Vegas actually had a very good power play. This one is probably a little different level than that one.

Edmonton was also the best shorthanded team in the playoffs, killing 32 of 35 penalties (91.4%) after ranking mid-league during the regular season.

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CHUTE OPENERS

Dallas has lost the first game in each of its last six playoff series, including the first two home playoff games.

All three of the Stars’ Game 1 losses during the 2023 playoffs came in overtime, as did Game 1 against Colorado in the final round. The Avalanche never led this game until scoring the overtime goal for a 4-3 victory – the same final score for the Stars in the first two games against the Golden Knights, in the first round this season and in the Western Finals in Vegas last year.

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AP NHL Playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

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