First Shift: Stars to take on Golden Knights in all-or-nothing battle

Pete DeBoer is 7-0 in Game 7’s, and that’s a nice little stat to have in your pocket at a critical time of year.

But the Stars head coach said that doesn’t really mean anything as he and his team get ready to play host to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Game 7 on Sunday at American Airlines Center.

Asked if he has a special motivational chat to use before the game, DeBoer laughed.

“I wish it was that easy,” he said. “I wish there was a pregame speech that I could regurgitate every time that would guarantee a win, but every one of those Game 7s has been different. I just feel fortunate I’ve been able to coach in seven already.  It’s why you coach, it’s why you play hockey. I’m excited for our group and our guys and our fans.”

This might be one of the biggest challenges for him. Yes, it’s the First Round of the playoffs, but Dallas is the top seed in the West and Vegas is the defending Stanley Cup champion. The Golden Knights fell to the eighth seed because of injuries, but they have a healthy roster now and might have even more depth than they had last season.

So far in this series, the two teams have battled evenly to get to this point. Vegas won the first two games in Dallas, the Stars won the next two games in Las Vegas, and then each team won at home. All of the games have been one-goal games coming down the stretch, and the Stars expect things to be tight again.

“It’s so tight,” said forward Tyler Seguin. “It’s two great teams, it’s the Stanley Cup champs, nothing is easy with that. The games have been great.”

And that’s the expectation for Game 7 as well. Vegas made a change in the crease after Game 4, switching from Logan Thompson to Adin Hill. The latter got a shutout in Game 6, so that’s been a change that has worked. Dallas has rolled with Jake Oettinger, and he has been fantastic. The only goal he allowed in Game 6 was a puck that deflected off of Stars defenseman Ryan Suter in front of the net.

“He loves the moment, he loves the pressure,” Seguin said of Oettinger. “He’s been like that since he’s come to Dallas – the bigger the moment, the bigger the stage. He was incredible tonight. Their goalie was incredible tonight. It was one of those games. Who knows, it could be a 6-5 nail-biter next game. You don’t know what’s coming.”

And that’s the fun of Game 7. While both coaches will try to push the right button to make the right difference, DeBoer said the biggest role is simply to have everyone prepared.

“At this time of year, the players take over and the players decide it,” he said. “We make some adjustments, but it’s the guys who are battling it out on the ice every minute. That’s where the games are decided.”

The Stars won three games in a row and had Game 6 at 0-0 until 10 minutes remained, so they feel good about where their game is going into the series finale.

“I think, for us, just sticking with it,” DeBoer said. “We’ve played six games against this team. I think we know what has worked and it comes down to which team can stick with their plan for the longest. You need some bounces, you need some goaltending, it all comes down to one night.”

Key Numbers

0
Since joining the Stars, forward Joe Pavelski has averaged about .85 points per game, including .82 this season. He has 0 points and just five shots on goal while averaging 17 minutes of ice time per game in the six games this series.

35
Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev leads the playoffs in hits with 35. Vegas is fourth in the playoffs with 274. Dallas is 12th with 174.

50.5
Dallas ranks eighth in the playoffs in shot attempt differential. Vegas is ninth at 49.5. The two teams have been almost even in most statistics during the series.

He Said It

“Home ice advantage isn’t important until Game 7, and then I think it is important. That home crowd can really give you a boost.”

- Stars coach Pete DeBoer on the fact that road teams are 4-2 in this series so far

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.