Oozing with potential: Stars vs Golden Knights provides ample storylines

There’s truly nothing like the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It’s a two-month sprint soaked in drama, adversity and randomness. Want to see a team that set NHL regular-season records get bounced in the First Round? See the 2019 Lightning and 2023 Bruins. How about a depth player becoming the ultimate X-factor? Check out Ruslan Fedotenko or Joel Kiviranta.

The storylines are what make the madness so fun, and they have been incredibly prevalent in recent Dallas Stars runs.

Take the First Round in 2019 when the Stars faced the Nashville Predators. It was a preview of the 2020 Winter Classic and a perfect stage to further build on a brewing southern hockey rivalry. It was followed by a Second Round rematch with the St. Louis Blues, who had knocked the Stars out in 2016.

In 2020, Dallas had a chance to get to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2008. All it had to do was get by a heavily-favored Colorado Avalanche team, which took Game 7 overtime and Kiviranta to accomplish.

And lest we forget the 2023 First Round when the Stars faced off with their former home in a series with the Minnesota Wild. With plenty of bad blood and chipped shoulders to go around, the series lived up to the hype.

Everyone loves a good storyline that can further hype up an already highly-anticipated series. As the 2024 First Round matchups were finalized, there was a familiar feeling of excitement in the air. The Bruins and Maple Leafs meeting for the fourth time in the last 12 years, with each of the previous three needing 7 games. The Battle of Florida once again revving up between the Panthers and Lightning. The potential for mass chaos that comes with any Capitals-Rangers series. The theater should be second-to-none this spring.

But you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more intriguing First Round showdown than the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights. It’s a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference Final, which Vegas won 4-2 en route to its first Stanley Cup. Amidst all of the lingering animosity, the storylines don’t seem to have an endpoint.

It starts with the group of head coach Pete DeBoer, assistant coaches Steve Spott and Misha Donskov and forward Joe Pavelski.

This is Vegas’s sixth playoff berth in seven seasons of existence. In their first two trips (2018 and 2019), the Golden Knights squared off with a San Jose Sharks squad led by DeBoer, Spott and Pavelski (captain). In 2020, DeBoer, Spott and Donskov (who became an assistant after four seasons as director of hockey operations) led Vegas to the Western Conference Final only to be knocked out by Pavelski and the Stars in five games.

The trio led Vegas to the second-best record in the NHL the following season and made it to the third round. Two years later, DeBoer, Spott and Pavelski sat on the Stars bench and battled Donskov and the Knights in the 2023 Western Conference Final.

All in all, DeBoer, Spott and Donskov have played a part in every Vegas playoff run. Meanwhile, Pavelski has faced them in five of their six postseason berths.

“A lot of familiarity,” DeBoer said. “It’s crazy to think with 32 teams in the League that that’s the case. When I look at that list, every one of those journeys was a different story. A lot of great memories and not-so-great memories along those trails. I can’t even explain that. Hopefully, we end the streak this year.”

The repetition provides plenty of insight and discontent. And to get the first crack at the defending champions that cut your season short last spring?

“I don’t think you make a big deal about it, but you also don’t dismiss it,” said DeBoer. “It’s the team that ended your season and the team that went on to win the Stanley Cup, which was our goal last year. It’s not all encompassing, but it’s definitely there and you don’t ignore that.”

Which brings us to the recency storyline. It’s one that has largely been written by the title defenders as of late.

During the regular season, the Golden Knights swept the Stars in a three-game series. Dallas picked up points in two games for an 0-1-2 record, but only mustered four total goals in the series. But if we rewind back one season, the records were reversed as the Stars claimed the sweep before Vegas had the last laugh in the playoffs.

It reasserts the belief that the regular season and playoffs are two entirely different animals in the NHL.

“These teams know each other,” DeBoer said. “These coaching staffs know each other and what the other is trying to accomplish. There are no secrets there. I think it’s who can get to their game the quickest and for the longest period of time.”

Which begs the question: which team is under more pressure? Is it the Stars trying to exorcise demons that have lingered since May? Or is it a Golden Knights club challenged with repeating after a below-expectation regular season?

Speaking of expectations, both teams have been heading in quite different directions since their last meeting. The season series wrapped up rather quickly, with the final game played on December 9. Vegas rolled in a 6-1 victory, but it seemed to have a reverse effect on each club.

Since that game, Dallas posted a record of 37-13-6 to close the season (including a 12-2-0 capper). It was the best mark in the West and second-best in the NHL over the span. Vegas, meanwhile, stumbled through a 27-24-3 stretch. The Stars had a plus-56 goal differential, while the Golden Knights were minus-8. Dallas tightened up defensively to bring their goals against average to 2.71, while Vegas ballooned to 3.31.

Again, those numbers don’t mean much now. It’s been four months since the two squared off. Vegas went all-in at the trade deadline by adding Tomáš Hertl, Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha, while Dallas added Chris Tanev. And with a number of Vegas starters returning from extended injuries for Game 1, the Stars will be up against a brand-new lineup.

Still, the familiarity between these two clubs has produced an airtight style of competition. In the 2020 WCF, four of the five games were decided by one goal. In the last dozen meetings (regular season and playoffs) alone, seven required overtime.

They seem to mirror each other. Last season, the Golden Knights boasted the best depth in the NHL. This year, the Stars have the deepest team in the League. Last year, Vegas quietly hovered near the top of the standings all year. Dallas followed a similar trajectory this season with the second-best season in franchise history.

Which leads us to the final storyline: vanquishing the vanquishers.

It wasn’t long ago that the St. Louis Blues were the Stars’ postseason kryptonite. In 2016, they knocked off the 1-seed Stars on the road in Game 7. Three years later, it was another Second Round Game 7 that the Blues won in double OT.

There’s something to be said about finally outdoing a team that has had your number, whether it be for one year or 10. The Capitals getting past the Penguins in 2018. The Avalanche getting over the Second Round hump in 2022. Heck, the Maple Leafs finally getting past the First Round last year was cause enough for celebration.

All of these stories will weave into the overall fabric of what should be a thrilling series. It’s an ideal matchup. If the Stars are on the path to history as they feel like they are, Vegas is the perfect first hurdle. Beat the team that stood in your way last season, do it in convincing fashion and continue painting what has been an altogether special picture up to this point.

A popular pick to win the Cup goes up against the defending Cup champs. One will advance, while the other will feel as though they are heading home a few rounds too early.

There’s truly nothing like the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.