The Dallas Stars have plenty of motivation when they open their Western Conference finals series at home against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
After all, a trip to the Stanley Cup Final is on the line when the clubs meet for the best-of-seven set.
The Stars, who have reached the conference finals for the third consecutive season, have an extra factor: the quest for revenge.
Dallas lost a six-game series last spring to Edmonton with a trip to the finals on the line.
“The carry-over is still there,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said on Tuesday. “We remember what happened last year, but we’ve both been through a new season. We’ve brought in different players. They’ve brought in different players.”
It is no stretch to say both clubs are better and deeper than they were one year ago. The Oilers are still led by their offensive duo of superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but they have reached this far while receiving production from myriad depth players and an improved team defense.
The Stars eliminated the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets thanks to a stronger defense corps and a more dynamic attack, especially with the addition of talented forward Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline.
“It’s a great challenge for us,” Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen said. “Everyone knows what happened to us last year at this time. We want it to go the other way around this year. They’re a really good team and it’s going to be a tight series.”
And with the familiarity, intensity is more likely to be engaged from the drop of the puck.
“I don’t know if there’s bad blood but there’s some compete,” Rantanen said. “We’re trying to change the script.”
Dallas won two of three regular-season meetings.
The Oilers, who have dispatched the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights, arrive having won eight of nine games since opening the playoffs with consecutive road losses against the Kings.
That the squad which reached last year’s finals against the Florida Panthers — and lost in Game 7 after erasing a 3-0 series deficit — is back to this point is hardly a shock. The surprise is how the Oilers managed to return.
It’s a fact they are led offensively by McDavid, Draisaitl and defenseman Evan Bouchard, but the new wrinkle in their game is an improved ability to keep pucks out of the net.
To put a stamp on it, the Oilers finished the Vegas series with consecutive shutout wins, with goaltender Stuart Skinner a key part amid a playoff run that began with struggles to the point he lost the starter’s job.
Edmonton has taken pride in improving on the defensive side of the puck, which will be put to the test.
“They have scoring all over. I think they have (six) 20-goal scorers or something like that,” McDavid said. “They’re incredibly deep … have a really good team; it’ll be a good test.”
The Oilers, who surprisingly have failed to score a road power-play goal, will likely receive a huge boost during the series. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm, out for 21 of the last 22 games with an undisclosed injury — and played only two minutes during his team’s April 11 clash — practiced Monday and could return during the series. He has been ruled out for the first two games.
“Getting a guy like that back into the lineup, it’s hard to describe how much he can do,” Draisaitl said. “He’s obviously got to be healthy and well enough to play, but if we ever get to that point in this series, that’s a huge bonus for us.”
–Field Level Media
