FRISCO, Texas -- As Pete DeBoer prepares for the Western Conference Final, the Dallas Stars coach sees a lot of similarities to the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Stars will face the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 at American Airlines Center on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC) after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round and the Colorado Avalanche in six in the second.
“I think it’s a little bit of a hybrid of both those teams,” DeBoer said at the Stars practice facility Tuesday. “We’re going to have to pull all the things we did well against those two opponents. I think that will apply. But that’s easier said than done, and you’ve also got the best player in the world to deal with.”
Center Connor McDavid and Edmonton’s elite talent will be a challenge.
The Oilers have the top four scorers in the playoffs: center Leon Draisaitl with 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists), McDavid with 21 points (two goals, 19 assists), defenseman Evan Bouchard with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) and forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with 16 points (four goals, 12 points), each in 12 games.
They also have the top goal-scorer in the playoffs: forward Zach Hyman, who has 11 goals in 12 games.
But the Stars just overcame the last two Stanley Cup champions.
The Golden Knights defend the way the Oilers do, keeping their defensemen close to the net. They have center Jack Eichel and company. The Avalanche have three of the best players in the NHL in center Nathan MacKinnon, forward Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar.
“You’ve got a MacKinnon or an Eichel, that type of speed off the rush,” DeBoer said. “I think both have elite power plays, particularly Colorado. Elite power play. This is elite-plus. So, there’s a lot of similarities if you look at the two opponents, I think.”