Oettinger believes Stars can win Stanley Cup for 1st time since 1999

DALLAS -- Jake Oettinger has a strong belief in the Dallas Stars, the goaltender feeling they've got a great chance to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1999.

After defeating the Seattle Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center on Monday, they're halfway to that possibility.

"When you ask me if we think we can win it, I feel like not every year you can honestly say yes. I think this year, I feel like we can win it, and we have everything," Oettinger said after making 22 saves.

"When we play the way we want to play and we do the little things right, I think we can beat anyone, and having that belief is pretty cool. I think everyone in the locker room thinks that and that's a unique thing. Not every team can say that every year."

The Stars advance to the Western Conference Final to play the Vegas Golden Knights, who defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the other second-round matchup. Game 1 is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, TVAS, SN).

Of Oettinger's belief, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said, "Well, there's only four teams left, so we might as well take a shot at it here.

"Four weeks ago, there were 32. Now you're down to the final four. So, you're not near the finish line, but you can probably see it somewhere down the road there," he said. "It's definitely a lot closer than it was a week ago, and that's what we're here for. I mean, that's the goal, but we've got a gigantic test here first."

RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Kraken series coverage]

To get there, the Stars are going to need all-around efforts, which is exactly what they got in Game 7. A polar opposite of Game 6, when it got off to a rough start and never recovered, Dallas was poised and strong. It kept the Kraken from getting too close to Oettinger. Only forward Oliver Bjorkstrand was able to break through, and that was with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.

It was typical defense-first Stars hockey with the right amount of offense sprinkled in by two players who have been big parts of the Stanley Cup Playoffs thus far: forwards Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston.

Hintz scored his ninth goal of the postseason after taking the puck away from his former teammate, Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, near the blue line.

Johnston, who turned 20 on Sunday, roofed a backhand shot over Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer to make it 2-0 at 12:48 of the third period.

It was the second consecutive game-and series-clinching goal for Johnston, who also scored the winner to help Dallas eliminate the Minnesota Wild in Game 6 of the first round.

"I mean, it's definitely one of the better birthday gifts," Johnston said. "It was awesome being able to just kind of pitch in like that."

It seemed all the Stars pitched in to some degree on Monday. Perhaps none more than defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who led all players in logging 32:07 of ice time. The next closest was Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter, who played 26:14.

"It's great that we have him here," Hintz said of Heiskanen, his fellow Finn. "He plays half the game and it's not just the other way, it's both ways. He's offensive and defensive, so it's great for us that we have him here."

The Stars had a lot going right in Game 7 against the Kraken. It wasn't easy, given how strong Seattle played through the first two rounds. As DeBoer said, the Kraken "were relentless, right up until the buzzer tonight."

Nevertheless, here are the Stars, getting closer to the ultimate goal. Is this the year? Their goalie believes it is.

"I feel like we're going to be great for a long time, but you never know how many opportunities you're going to get like this," Oettinger said. "Guys have played 15 years in the League, been great players and never even made it to the conference final. We want to take advantage of this opportunity, play our best hockey and make the most of this opportunity."