Stars, Golden Knights to play Game 7 for trip to Western 2nd Round

The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights will play Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS, BSSW, SCRIPPS).

Vegas, the defending Stanley Cup champion, pushed the series to the limit by winning Game 6 at home 2-0 on Friday.

“Got to stick to the same plans that have got us here,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “We’ve played in big games before. Everyone in this room has been in big games, so you’ve just got to put your best foot forward. It’s a one-game elimination, right? We played on our toes (Friday). We’re in the exact same spot as we were (Friday).”

The winner will advance to the second round and play the Colorado Avalanche, who defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games in their best-of-7 first-round series.

The Stars (52-21-9), the No. 1 seed in the Central Division, would have home-ice advantage against the Avalanche (50-25-7), the No. 3 seed in the Central. The Golden Knights (45-29-8), the second wild card from the West, would start the series on the road.

Dallas is 4-5 in Game 7 in its history, including 3-2 at home since relocating from Minnesota before the 1993-94 season. The Stars won their most recent Game 7, 2-1 against the Seattle Kraken in the second round last season.

Forward Joe Pavelski has played in 10 Game 7s (7-3) and has seven points (three goals, four assists). Center Tyler Seguin has played in eight (5-3) with three points (one goal, two assists). Forwards Jamie Benn and Radek Faksa each is 2-3 in Game 7.

Goalie Jake Oettinger is 1-1 in Game 7, making 86 saves on 90 shots (1.78 goals-against average, .956 save percentage), including 64 saves in a 3-2 loss against the Calgary Flames in the first round in 2022.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer is 7-0 in Game 7.

Vegas is 2-1 in Game 7, including 0-1 on the road, but has won its past two, the last coming in the first round in 2021, a 6-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild.

Defensemen Alec Martinez and Alex Pietrangelo each has played in 5 Game 7s and each is 5-0. Center Chandler Stephenson, defenseman Shea Theodore and forward Tomas Hertl each is 3-1, and forward Mark Stone is 2-2.

Goalies Adin Hill and Logan Thompson each has not played in a Game 7.

Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy is 2-2 in Game 7.

There were three Game 7s in the 2023 first round, with the road team winning two of them.

“I think if you look (at) our group, we rise to the occasion,” Pietrangelo said. “We did that last year. But then again, we’re a team that’s going to look in the mirror. As well as we played, I think there’s still some things that we can tweak. We’ll get ready for that on Sunday.”

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report