:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72285064/usa_today_14932716.0.jpg "NHL playoff history: When was last time Stars were in Conference Final? Record, appearances, more")
The Western Conference Final for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been set as the Vegas Golden Knights will battle the Dallas Stars with Game 1 set for Friday. Dallas got to this point by winning a pair of long, grueling series against the Minnesota Wild and the Seattle Kraken.
The last time the Golden Knights played in the Western Conference Final was in 2020, where they coincidentally beat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. This series took place in September after the NHL had suspended play for just under five months due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon its return, the league conducted a 24-team postseason with Eastern Conference teams playing at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and Western Conference teams playing at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Advancing to the Western Conference Final, Dallas and Vegas split the first two games before the Stars took complete control of the series. Holding a 3-1 series lead, a Denis Gurianov power-play goal in overtime is what sealed the WCF for the Stars and sent them to the championship round.
For this year, Dallas opens as a +120 underdog at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the series and advance to the championship round.