The rematch: Stars preparing for heated showdown with Golden Knights

Pete DeBoer summed up the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Friday morning by saying, “You’ve got to beat the best to be the best.”

So, yeah, it would be easy to complain about working all year to get the top seed in the Western Conference and then having to face the defending Stanley Cup champion, the Vegas Golden Knights, as the second wild card, but the Stars don’t see it that way. They love getting a chance against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs. They love facing a team that many believe will be much better once they get all of their players back and healthy. They love facing a team that DeBoer and his coaching staff know very well.

So, let the games begin.

“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.”

DeBoer used to coach the Golden Knights and was fired after the 2022-23 season. He was hired by the Stars that summer and brought with him assistant coach Steve Spott. This offseason, they added assistant coach Misha Donskov, who helped Vegas beat Dallas last season on its way to the Cup. Point is, there are a lot of intertwined stories here, and that’s sort of the nature of the playoffs.

The Stars’ youngest player – Wyatt Johnston – had some veteran advice after playing in the playoffs last season.

“I think the most important thing is not really worrying about anything else other than getting ready for the next game,” Johnston said. “It’s easy to look too far into things, but you have to just focus on doing the right things every day.”

It’s not easy to do that with the Golden Knights. Dallas finished on a 16-4-0 run that helped it forge the second best record in the NHL. Vegas, meanwhile, went 12-9-1 down the stretch and had to battle just to secure the second wild card. Dallas finished second in goal differential at plus-64. Vegas was 14th at plus-22. Dallas was third in goals per game, Vegas 13th. The Stars were eighth in goals against, the Golden Knights were 12th. The Stars power play was sixth and the penalty kill eighth. The Golden Knights were 16th on the man advantage and 17th on the kill.

There’s a lot on paper that could either be affirming or distracting based on how you use it. The Stars are choosing neither.

After all, Vegas has dealt with injuries all season. Captain Mark Stone has been out since Feb. 21 with a lacerated spleen but could return for Game 1. In addition, trade deadline acquisitions such as Anthony Mantha, Noah Hanifin and Tomáš Hertl could add an extra boost to the lineup.

“They’re a dangerous team,” said Stars forward Matt Duchene. “They’re a team that’s going to have almost a brand new roster for the playoffs. Hopefully, they’re not really clicking, but if they are, we’re going to be ready for their best. I know it’s going to be a war of a series.”

And that’s what makes the challenge more than just a 1 vs. 8 battle. Vegas went 3-0-0 against the Stars this season, but the last meeting between the two was in early December. That means everyone is recalibrating.

“We haven’t played them in a long time, and their personnel is going to be different come playoff time than even what it was in the last two weeks,” DeBoer said. “What you do know is their identity and what they’re trying to do. And when they do plug in all of those guys, you know what their strengths will be, and we have to find a way to get through all of that.”

Dallas gets home ice advantage, which could be crucial if the series goes to seven games. Evgenii Dadonov appears back for the Stars, and that could mean a healthy scratch for a forward on the fourth line – Radek Faksa, Craig Smith or Sam Steel. Defenseman Jani Hakanpää continues to recover from an injury but is “day to day” according to DeBoer. He could take Nils Lundkvist’s spot on defense.

But that’s all part of the details of the series. When Game 1 starts Monday, everything will be even. There will be no top seed, no wildcard, no defending Stanley Cup champion. That’s the reality of the NHL playoffs.

“There is no easy path,” DeBoer said. “You can argue last year that we drew Minnesota and Seattle and if you were sitting here on Day 1, you’d say that’s about as easy a path as you could draw up. But when I look back, both of those teams took a big piece out of us that affected us in the Conference Final. They were both really, really tough outs. So there’s no way to get a perfect opponent, you’ve got to beat whoever they throw in front of you.”

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

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.