The Dallas Stars will play the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Stars (52-21-9), who finished first in the Central Division and Western Conference, will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-7 series. The Golden Knights (45-29-8) finished as the second wild card.
The playoffs begin Saturday.
The Golden Knights won all three games against the Stars in the regular season. They won 3-2 in a shootout on Oct. 17, 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 22, and 6-1 on Dec. 9.
This season, the Stars were led by forwards Jason Robertson (80 points; 29 goals, 51 assists), Joe Pavelski (67 points; 27 goals, 40 assists), Wyatt Johnston (65 points; 32 goals, 33 assists), Roope Hintz (65 points; 30 goals, 35 assists), Matt Duchene (65 points; 25 goals, 40 assists), and Jamie Benn (60 points; 21 goals, 39 assists). Miro Heiskanen led their defensemen with 54 points (nine goals, 45 assists), and Thomas Harley had 47 points (15 goals, 32 assists) and led the team with a plus-28 rating.
Jake Oettinger was 35-14-4 with a 2.72 goals-against average, .905 save percentage and three shutouts in 54 games (53 starts), and Scott Wedgewood was 16-7-5 with a 2.85 GAA and .899 save percentage in 32 games (28 starts). Matt Murray had a shutout in his only start, making 23 saves in a 4-0 win against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 8.
Against the Golden Knights, the Stars were led by Hintz and Pavelski, who each had a goal and an assist. Craig Smith and Evgenii Dadonov were the only other players to score a goal against Vegas.
Oettinger started all three games against the Golden Knights, going 0-1-2 with a 3.21 GAA and .885 save percentage.
The Golden Knights were led this season by forwards Jonathan Marchessault, who had 69 points, including an NHL career-high 42 goals, Jack Eichel (68 points; 31 goals, 37 assists), William Karlsson (60 points; 30 goals, 30 assists), Mark Stone (53 points; 16 goals, 37 assists), who was limited to 56 games because of a lacerated spleen, and Chandler Stephenson (51 points; 16 goals, 35 assists). Shea Theodore led their defensemen with 42 points (five goals, 37 assists).
Logan Thompson was 25-14-5 with a 2.70 GAA, .908 save percentage and one shutout in 46 games (42 starts), and Adin Hill was 19-12-2 with a 2.71 GAA, .909 save percentage and two shutouts in 35 games. Jiri Patera was 1-3-1 with a 3.98 GAA and .893 save percentage in six games (five starts).
Against the Stars, the Golden Knights were led by Stone, Karlsson and Nicolas Roy, who each had a goal and two assists. Eichel was one of five other players who each had a goal and an assist.
Hill was 2-0-0 with a 1.43 GAA and .948 save percentage. Thompson made 19 saves in his only start, the 6-1 win on Dec. 9
The Stars and Golden Knights have played twice before in the playoffs, with each team winning once. Vegas eliminated Dallas in six games in the Western Conference Final last season en route to winning its first Stanley Cup championship. The Stars eliminated the Golden Knights in five games in the Western Conference Final in 2020.
The Stars won their only Stanley Cup championship in 1999.
