A grand finale: Storylines abound as Stars, Golden Knights dive into Game 7

If the playoff series between the Stars and Golden Knights was a TV miniseries, the final episode would prove to be explosive.

I mean, look what we’ve already seen so far.

Vegas has a history of understanding the salary cap better than anyone, so it fell to the eighth seed while managing injuries and still found a way to improve a roster that won the Stanley Cup last season.

Dallas is hitting its development stride and pushed hard to be the best team it could be this year, winning the Western Conference with the second-best record in franchise history.

There are debates on the internet of who is doing things the right way. Some fans are cheering for one side or another even though they don’t really follow either team.

If that’s not enough, Vegas fired coach Pete DeBoer and his best friend Steve Spott two years ago after they missed the playoffs. The Stars quickly scooped the two up and they have helped guide Dallas in the next step of its build. And as fate would have it, the lads from Ontario had a chance to seek some amount of redress last season, but lost to Vegas in the Western Conference Final. So, with a second chance this year, a victory over the old squad would be quite satisfying.

Plus, you have two of the best teams in the NHL and one will be done for the season after the First Round. That’s a hard truth right there.

Vegas has a Stanley Cup in the trophy case already, so it can rest on that, but you do have to wonder if the LTIR philosophy went a little too far this season by slipping down to the second wild card spot. That would be a subject for debate all summer in Sin City if the Knights lose to Dallas. The Stars, meanwhile, are hoping to get a first Stanley Cup for players like Joe Pavelski and Ryan Suter, both 39, as well as for captain Jamie Benn and DeBoer.

Obviously, Dallas believes it has a big window as an organization with a group of prime young players in Jason Robertson, Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven and Thomas Harley. Heck, toss in prospects Mavrik Bourque and Lian Bichsel, and you can theoretically pencil in May dates at AAC for the next decade.

But that doesn’t mean the clock isn’t ticking pretty loudly right now for certain individuals.

And, honestly, every team is an entity unto itself, and this group feels pretty good about what it can do. Jim Nill added some key pieces in Matt Duchene, Chris Tanev, Craig Smith and Evgenii Dadonov over the past two years. DeBoer has combined with old friend Pavelski to establish an environment where the oldest and youngest players get along great. For it to end in the First Round just doesn’t seem right.

So that’s all going to be on the ice Sunday.

Earlier in the series, Tyler Seguin said that teams often have hurdles they have to get over in the playoffs. For example, the Washington Capitals struggled with the Pittsburgh Penguins for years before finally getting past them and winning it all in 2018.

“This is our team that we have to find a way to overcome,” Seguin said. “We have to find a way to overcome them, and that’s going to spring forward all of the emotion and confidence of our group.”

Had they been able to do it on Friday in front of the Vegas crowd, that would have been special in its own way – especially for DeBoer and Spott. Now, to possibly do it at home in front of Stars fans? That also would be pretty neat. Bottom line, the AAC doesn’t like Mark Stone and the Golden Knights. The AAC wants this one really badly. Now, the players will have to navigate that energy and find the right line between truculent and tranquil. They will have to understand all of the drama, but not become too much a part of it.

The irony to this epic episode, of course, is that the winner gets to move on and face a Colorado Avalanche team that might be the hottest in the playoffs right now. When that miniseries starts, there will be all sorts of new discussions about rust and rest and what the winner of that series will have left. But for now, the Stars would love to just get through the plot twists that Sunday may offer.

After all, the writers have created quite a unique adventure already.

“It’s not a typical 1-8 first-round matchup,” DeBoer said. “The only reason they’re in the 8 hole is because of injuries and how their season went. Otherwise, they’re probably fighting for the Presidents’ Trophy. So it’s more like a final or a conference final that we’ve jumped into right out of regular season play. We recognize that, but I think we look at this like if we can get through this, we’re going to be tougher and more weathered and better for it.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.