NHL Western Conference Preview and Prediction

While the Eastern Conference Final has an unlikely matchup of the Panthers and Hurricanes, the Western Conference Final features a matchup between two teams that have been amongst the best in the NHL all season. The Pacific division champion Vegas Golden Knights will take on a Dallas Stars team that finished second in the Central division. 

Last season the Vegas Knights missed the playoffs and fired their coach, Pete DeBoer. Shortly after the firing, the Dallas Stars found themselves in need of a coach and hired DeBoer,who has now led them to the conference finals in his first year. DeBoer will be looking to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in his coaching career, while the team that he took to the conference finals two times stands in his way.

The Golden Knights advanced to the conference final by eliminating the Winnipeg Jets in five games and then the Edmonton Oilers in six games. The Knights have put together arguably the deepest roster in the NHL and have several guys that can beat you on any given night. Vegas leads the NHL with thirteen players that have scored a goal this postseason. The most dangerous of those thirteen players is Jack Eichel. Eichel is an extremely talented scorer and facilitator and leads the Knights in both goals and points. 

Vegas’ depth doesn’t end with their goal scorers, the Knights have had a revolving door in net with five different starters in goal this season. A multitude of injuries throughout the season and during the playoffs has resulted in Adin Hill taking over for the Knights. Hill won sixteen games during the regular season and was thrust back into action in game 3 against the Oilers due to an injury to Laurent Brossoit. Hill played well in the remainder of the series to help the Knights advance to the conference finals and will look to continue that play against the Stars.

The Dallas Stars reached the conference final after defeating the Minnesota Wild in six games and then taking down the Seattle Kraken in an incredible seven game series. The Stars have a high-powered offense that has scored at least three goals in nine of their last twelve playoff games. Dallas’ impressive offense is spearheaded by Roope Hintz. Hintz is second in the NHL in postseason points this year with nineteen points through thirteen games. While Hintz has played incredibly well, the Stars will be looking to get more out of Jason Robertson in this series against the Knights. Robertson had 46 goals during the regular season, but has scored just twice in the playoffs thus far. 

In the net behind the Stars’ high scoring skaters will be Jake Oettinger. Oettinger has been extremely inconsistent as of late with some very high highs and some very low lows. After being pulled twice in the second round, Oettinger bounced back with a great game seven performance to help the Stars advance. A large part of the Stars’ fate will rely on which version of Oettinger shows up in the conference finals. 

Prediction

Both the Knights and the Stars are extremely deep and talented, but have some question marks in the net. In what should be a very evenly matched and high scoring series, I’m going to have to give the Vegas Golden Knights a slight edge. Unfortunately for Dallas Stars’ coach Pete DeBoer, I believe his hunt for a Stanley Cup Final appearance falls short again, this time to his former team.

Vegas Golden Knights in Six Games

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