The Dallas Stars face the Vegas Golden Knights in Game One of the Western Conference Final. The Stars handled the Minnesota Wild in six games and then beat the Seattle Kraken in a hard-fought seven-game series to advance to the conference final. The Golden Knights beat the Winnipeg Jets in five games and then beat the Edmonton Oilers in a six-game series to advance to their fourth Western Conference Final in six years. This is a rematch of the 2020 Western Conference Final and both teams are looking to start the series strong and Game One should be a great one as a result.
The Stars have reached the Western Conference Final on the back of great offense, scoring 47 goals in the playoffs. Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Max Domi have scored 14 goals and 28 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also been great. Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn, and Tyler Seguin have combined for 15 goals and 14 assists while defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley have added a goal and 15 assists to put the offense over the top.
The offense has been great but the defense has struggled, allowing 40 goals. Miro Heiskanen, Ryan Suter, and Esa Lindell have led the top two pairings but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Jake Oettinger has struggled in the playoffs with a .903 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average on 362 shots.