Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson, bottom, falls to the ice as Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) controls the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game on Dec. 9 in Dallas.Julio Cortez/The Associated Press
The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights are meeting much earlier in the Stanley Cup playoffs this time.
Reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas opens defence of its title as a No. 8 seed in a first-round series that opens Monday night in Dallas, where the Knights last year wrapped up the Western Conference final with a Game 6 victory.
“Probably a better team than where they finished,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. “It’s a great test for us. When you have a goal of going all the way, a lot of times you’ve got to get through the defending champs.”
Seguin is the only Stars player with a Cup title, but that was 13 years ago as a 19-year-old rookie with Boston. He made the Stanley Cup Final with Dallas in 2020, after another Western Conference final against Vegas.
The Stars won 17 of their last 21 games to get the top seed in the West. They set a franchise record with an NHL-high eight 20-goal scorers, and All-Star goalie Jake Oettinger has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of his past 11 starts.
“We’ve played our best hockey here down the stretch,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said.
Vegas won all three regular-season meetings, the last on Dec. 9. There was a shootout and overtime game before 12 different Knights had points in a 6-1 win in Dallas.
The Knights were 13-12-2 while finishing the regular season without captain Mark Stone (lacerated spleen), and were also at times without defenceman Alex Pietrangelo, Chandler Stephenson and William Carrier. All were back at practice before the first-round series.
“They’re a big part of our team,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’ve managed to persevere in terms of getting to our first goal, which was to make the playoffs.”
Vegas last year had home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, including the Stanley Cup Final when beating Florida in five games. To get back, they will have to do it as a No. 8 seed, as the Panthers did last year.
“We understand as soon as you get in, anything can happen,” said Jack Eichel, whose 68 points were second on the team to Jonathan Marchessault’s 69. “What you do here on out the next two months, that’s the most important thing.”
ANY CARRYOVER?
Stars captain Jamie Benn missed Games 4 and 5 of last year’s West final after being suspended for an ugly hit on Stone that led to a game misconduct less than two minutes into Game 3. The captains collided and, after Stone fell to the ice, Benn lunged forward with both hands on his stick and made contact near Stone’s neck. “It’s a different year. I think that was addressed pretty quick in the regular season,” Dallas forward Joe Pavelski said, when asked about any carryover effect into this series. “It’s all about winning right now. And that’s kind of what we’re focused on.” A week into this regular season, Dallas and Vegas traded goals and plenty of punches in a period when both teams received two fighting majors – the first of those being Benn and Vegas defenceman Nicholas Hague.
IN NET
Oettinger, who two years ago had 64 saves in a Game 7 first-round loss at Calgary, has an NHL-high 24 wins since Jan. 1. Aiden Hill was spectacular for the Knights last postseason after Laurent Brossoit was injured in the second round. Hill was 11-4 with a .932 save percentage in the playoffs, but has dealt with injuries and inconsistent play this season. Hill split starts down the stretch with Logan Thompson, who has a .926 save percentage and 2.14 goals-against average in his past 11 games. But Thompson lacks playoff experience.