Golden Knights vs. Stars playoff preview

No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 3 Dallas Stars

Golden Knights: 4-3 to remove Western Conference 2nd Spherical in opposition to No. 5 Vancouver Canucks; 4-1 to remove first spherical in opposition to No. 8 Chicago Blackhawks; 3-0-0 in Qualifiers spherical-robin; 39-28-4, .606 aspects percentage in new season

Stars: 4-3 to remove second spherical in opposition to No. 2 Colorado Avalanche; 4-2 to remove first spherical in opposition to No. 6 Calgary Flames; 1-2-0 in Qualifiers spherical-robin; 37-24-8, .594 aspects percentage in new season

Season sequence: VGK 1-1-0; DAL 1-0-1

Sport 1 is Sunday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS)

The Vegas Golden Knights are within the Western Conference Final for the second time in their three seasons and are taking a learn about to remove the Stanley Cup for the first time. To reside so, they’ll deserve to acquire past the Dallas Stars, who’re within the conference final for the first time since 2008, when they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

Vegas and Dallas occupy by no manner met within the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and every is coming off a victory in Sport 7 of the second spherical Friday.

The Golden Knights defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 to scheme, needing a remove within the deciding recreation after main the correct-of-7 sequence 3-1. They eradicated the Chicago Blackhawks in five games within the first spherical.

“They’re gargantuan, they’re heavy, they’re experienced, they’re rapid,” Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. “Right here’s a total unique effort for us. … I know they’re the favorites, in step with the brand new season, in step with the spherical-robin, as they occupy to aloof be. That is comely. We were the underdog within the diversified two sequence as effectively. 

“The order is that right here’s very a deep team and right here’s a in actuality experienced heavy team, and so they’ll scheme abet at us and we take into accout that. … It be going to be which team can forecheck the correct, which team can hem the diversified team in their be pleased zone. Exhaust as little time to your zone as possible.”

The Stars also needed to remove in Sport 7 of the second spherical after taking a 3-1 sequence lead in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche. They won 5-4 in overtime of the deciding recreation on the third function of the sport by rookie forward Joel Kiviranta. Dallas trailed by a function at three diversified times within the future of the sport.

It used to be redemption for the Stars, who lost Sport 7 of the second spherical closing season, 2-1 within the second overtime to the eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.

“While you happen to checked out Dallas within the future of the season, you form of scratched your head why they weren’t creating offense with the personnel they’d,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “It did no longer construct somewhat just a few sense. The truth they’ve attach that share together right here, since we occupy scheme abet, that is no longer a surprise to me. They’ve obtained somewhat just a few skill abet each on the abet reside and up front. Valid factual energy play. They’re firing on all cylinders. It be going to be a gigantic test.”

Dallas, which defeated the Calgary Flames in six games within the first spherical, now sets its sights on Vegas, which earned the tip seed within the Western Conference after going 3-0-0 within the spherical-robin fragment of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

The Stars are the No. 3 seed after going 1-2-0 within the spherical-robin. They lost 5-3 to the Golden Knights within the first recreation of the spherical-robin Aug. 3.

[RELATED: Complete Golden Knights vs. Stars series coverage]

Sport breakers

Golden Knights: Shea Theodore has scored 16 aspects (six needs, 10 aspects) in 15 games and leads Vegas in postseason scoring. The defenseman scored with a Bobby Orr-delight in transfer in Sport 5 in opposition to the Canucks, weaving through three defenders and going prime shelf, and broke goalie Thatcher Demko‘s 98-assign bound in Sport 7 to present the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 13: 52 of the third duration. No wonder forward Mark Stone has hyped him as much of the Norris Trophy, awarded to the defenseman voted as finest within the NHL.

Stars: Miro Heiskanen has scored 21 aspects (five needs, 16 assists) in 16 games, essentially the most by a defenseman in a single postseason in Stars/Minnesota North Stars historical past. The 21-300 and sixty five days-worn has two more aspects than any defenseman had within the 2019 playoffs, when St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo led the NHL with 19 aspects (three needs, 16 assists) in 26 games. Heiskanen scored 17 aspects (five needs, 12 assists) in 13 games within the first and second rounds, together with 13 (three needs, 10 assists) in an vigorous eight-recreation point bound tied with Dennis Maruk, Tony McKegney, Neal Broten and Mike Modano for the longest within the playoffs in Dallas/Minnesota historical past.

Video: VAN@VGK, Gm7: Theodore capitalizes off map for PPG

Goaltending

Golden Knights: DeBoer stuck with Robin Lehner as a replacement of starting up Marc-Andre Fleury in Sport 7 in opposition to the Canucks, even after Lehner lost consecutive games, together with Sport 6 the evening earlier than. The reward used to be a 14-assign shutout that incorporated a spectacular glove assign on Canucks forward Brock Boeser when the glean used to be 0-0. Lehner is 8-4-0 with a 1.99 needs-in opposition to reasonable and .918 assign percentage within the postseason. He also has three shutouts, all in opposition to Vancouver. 

Stars: Dallas has been utilizing Anton Khudobin within the postseason, and he has delivered with an 8-5-0 file, a 2.94 GAA and a .909 assign percentage. Khudobin started six of seven games in opposition to the Avalanche, with a short rest to enable Ben Bishop to birth out Sport 5, the second of a abet-to-abet. Bishop allowed four needs on 19 shots in 13: 43 within the future of his birth and used to be replaced by Khudobin. It be no longer yet identified if Bishop, who has been unfit to play in 10 of the past 11 games, will be an choice for the Stars in Sport 1.

Video: VAN@VGK, Gm7: Lehner dives to remove Boeser

Numbers to perceive

Golden Knights: Vegas has had 60.5 p.c of the shot makes an are trying at 5-on-5 within the postseason; Dallas is 16th among the many 24 teams that certified for the postseason at 48.9 p.c. The Golden Knights lead the postseason in shots on function at 5-on-5 (436) and in all situations (557), and so they are first in fewest shots-in opposition to per recreation (24.7).

Stars: Dallas defensemen occupy scored 45 aspects (11 needs, 34 assists) within the postseason; Vegas defensemen occupy scored 38 (11 needs, 27 assists). It is largely the most aspects by Stars defensemen within the postseason since 1999, when they scored 46 (seven needs, 39 assists) on the vogue to the Stanley Cup.

X-components

Golden Knights: Vegas’ finest advantage is depth, and the third line of Slice Cousins, Nicolas Roy and Alex Tuch causes matchup concerns, in particular Tuch thanks to his mixture of size (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), skill and drag. The forward leads the Golden Knights within the postseason with eight needs and is fourth with 10 aspects. “The teams which can be aloof taking half on this time of 300 and sixty five days occupy these luxuries,” DeBoer said. “That depth is the explanation that teams are aloof around.”

Stars: Denis Gurianov leads NHL rookie forwards with 15 aspects (eight needs, seven assists) in 16 games within the postseason. The 23-300 and sixty five days-worn has scored no longer less than one point in six straight games (two needs, six assists) and in 9 of 13 games during the first two rounds. He scored four needs in Dallas’ 7-3 sequence-successful victory in Sport 6 of the first spherical in opposition to Calgary.

Video: DAL@CGY, Gm6: Gurianov records four-function recreation

They said it

“We’re merely a resilient team. We work traumatic, and when we work traumatic, I maintain we’re a successful team. Obviously, we occupy got somewhat just a few skill, somewhat just a few big avid gamers in that team, nonetheless on the reside of the day, every evening or no longer it will be the hardworking team that is going to remove.” — Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault

“We were right here for 40-something days, nonetheless earlier than we obtained right here, you scheme to practising camp in September, you struggle through plenty as a team. However since we were right here, all we occupy got is every diversified. It be been somewhat just a few fun. We occupy plenty going on in our participant lounge. You would also repeatedly glean something to total there. Pleased to be staying right here a little bit of longer.” — Stars captain Jamie Benn

Will remove if …

Golden Knights: They proceed to make exercise of their depth and forecheck to their advantage, and their offense comes abet alive. The fitting manner to limit the Stars offensively, especially Heiskanen, is to withhold them in their be pleased zone and pressure them to shield. Sooner than they bumped into Demko, Vegas used to be averaging 3.75 needs per recreation within the postseason.

Stars: They proceed to acquire production from their protection, and their prime forwards, Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov, glean consistent production. Dallas has been scoring more within the playoffs (3.31 needs per recreation) than it did within the brand new season (2.58), largely thanks to its vigorous defensemen. The tip line produced early within the sequence in opposition to the Avalanche, scoring 17 aspects (seven needs, 10 assists) within the first four games, earlier than fading in Games 5 and 6 with one point, a function by Benn, between them, a reason the Stars lost every recreation. Radulov scored two needs, and Benn had an aid in Sport 7.

Video: DAL@COL, Gm7: Radulov ties recreation with second function

Golden Knights projected lineup

Max Pacioretty — William Karlsson — Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault — Paul Stastny — Reilly Smith

Slice Cousins — Nicolas Roy — Alex Tuch

William Provider — Chandler Stephenson — Ryan Reaves

Alec Martinez — Shea Theodore

Brayden McNabb — Nate Schmidt

Slice Holden — Zach Whitecloud

Robin Lehner

Marc-Andre Fleury

Scratched: Dylan Coghlan, Oscar Dansk, Reid Duke, Deryk Engelland, Nicolas Hague, Keegan Kolesar, Peyton Krebs, Jon Merrill, Gage Quinney, Patrick Brown 

Unfit to play: Tomas Nosek

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Alexander Radulov

Mattias Janmark — Joe Pavelski — Denis Gurianov

Joel Kiviranta — Roope Hintz — Corey Perry

Jason Dickinson — Radek Faksa — Blake Comeau

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg

Jamie Oleksiak — Miro Heiskanen

Andrej Sekera — Joel Hanley

Anton Khudobin

Jake Oettinger

Scratched: Slice Caamano, Jason Robertson, Justin Dowling, Gavin Bayreuther, Thomas Harley, Ty Dellandrea, Landon Bow 

Unfit to play: Ben Bishop, Stephen Johns, Andrew Cogliano, Taylor Fedun

NHL.com senior creator Dan Rosen and NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this file