Stars coach says facing former team in West Final 'means a little more'

DALLAS --Peter DeBoer learned a big lesson in remaining calm when he coached the New Jersey Devils against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.

"Elimination game, biggest game of my coaching career and we had a meeting, and no one could find Larry,'" DeBoer said of Larry Robinson, a Devils assistant at the time. "'Where's Larry? Where's Larry?' They had some pregame entertainment that was rehearsing on the ice, and he was sitting on the bench watching it.

"When you have 10 (Stanley Cup) rings, you can have that type of attitude that you're just going to relax and go with the flow. But you learn something from that, and I think what I learned from Larry is that, you can twist yourself in knots during those moments and the lead-up to the game and all those things. At the end of the day, you've prepared your team, they're ready, you really hand them the keys at these points, and they have to take it and go."

The Dallas Stars coach has exuded his share of serenity throughout these Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now we'll see if it continues with the Stars advancing to the Western Conference Final, where they'll play the Vegas Golden Knights, whom DeBoer coached from 2019-22.

Game 1 is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).

DeBoer said Monday "there was a lot to unpack" regarding the Golden Knights, who fired him May 16, 2022, and he wanted to focus on the Stars' 2-1 win against the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round.

On Tuesday, he was willing to open the suitcase.

"Obviously there's no hiding from the fact that it means a little more," he said. "That would be for anybody in this situation. This happens all the time in the world, right? You move on from a job and you go to the next job, except now we're playing with each other in the conference final immediately after.

"The important thing for me here, though, is the hockey and the focus on the players. It's not about Pete DeBoer and his history with Vegas. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the players in that room. There's a lot of guys there I loved coaching.

"It's going to be a great test for us, but I'm a Dallas Star now, I love our group and I think we're getting better as the playoffs are going on here and should be a hell of a series."

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Stars series coverage]

The Golden Knights aren't surprised DeBoer has continued to find success.

"He's just smart. He's a good coach. Personable," Vegas center Chandler Stephenson said. "I'd say he's that fine line of players' coach, but he also is just demanding. He expects a lot out of everybody, he understands his players and the different roles that they bring. I think that's huge."

DeBoer is 560-400-137 in 1,097 NHL games coaching the Florida Panthers, Devils, San Jose Sharks, Golden Knights and Stars, and 76-60 in 136 playoff games.

He has led four teams, including Dallas, to the conference finals. He coached New Jersey to the Eastern Conference Final in 2012, San Jose to the Western Conference Final in 2016 and 2019 and did the same with Vegas in 2020 and 2021.

Only one other coach in NHL history has done that more often: Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman achieved it five times, with the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.

DeBoer is the only man in NHL history to lead a team to the conference finals in his first season as coach four times. Two of those teams advanced to the Stanley Cup Final: the Devils lost to the Kings in six games in the 2012 final, and the Sharks lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in 2016.

DeBoer is also 7-0 in coaching Game 7s.

"If your coach is back there freaking out, hitting the panic button every time you lose, I think that trickles down into the group," Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said. "He's the exact opposite of that. He believes in this group of guys and if we do what he's teaching us and what we do as a group well, I think if we do that, he believes we can win the Cup.

"The belief starts and ends with him and his demeanor trickles down into the whole group. It's a pretty cool stat and it's not shocking he's had success, and a lot has to do with his calmness and belief in this group."

DeBoer has a reputation among players as being a great communicator. Dallas forward Tyler Seguin and former NHL defenseman Andy Greene, who played for DeBoer in New Jersey from 2011-15, each described DeBoer's approach as "black and white."

"With our team, that was a huge plus," Greene said. "That's what I remember mostly about the beginning: 'Here's how we want to play, style, execute, this is how we do it.' That's what mostly stood out. Just the way he talked and communicated and treated all of us was great."

The Stars have always been a strong defensive team, and that didn't change when DeBoer was named coach on June 22, 2022, replacing Rick Bowness, who resigned May 20 after three seasons. Dallas has allowed 3.08 goals per game this postseason (tied for sixth among playoff teams) after allowing 2.62 per game during the regular season (third).

The Stars have found more offense, however, under DeBoer; they averaged 3.43 goals per game this season, seventh in the NHL. They're fifth among playoff teams, averaging 3.62 goals per game. Last season, they averaged 2.84 goals per game in the regular season (21st in NHL) and 2.00 in the playoffs (16th and last).

"We've opened up but a lot of teachings from (Bowness) we still emulate this year," Seguin said. "He was great to us, and we all have positive things to say about him. Pete's obviously brought a team speed to our lineup. We just know where the puck's going. It's made us take that next step."

DeBoer has achieved a lot as an NHL coach. Will he win that elusive Stanley Cup championship at some point, perhaps even this year?

"I hope so," Greene said. "I'm obviously a big Pete fan. I'm always pulling for him and rooting for him. I hope he does pull it off. He deserves it."

NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report