There’s only one game left between the Vegas Golden Knights, the defending champions of the Stanley Cup, and the top-seeded Stars. This deciding Game 7 in Dallas on Sunday will conclude the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
“I think when we started this series, this was probably expected,” said experienced Stars forward Tyler Seguin. “And if you had asked us when we were down 2-0, if we would take Game 7 at home, we would have said yes. So it’s going to be exciting.”
Dallas and Vegas have each won games on their home turf since the visiting team won the first four games. The Knights pushed the series to its limit with a 2-0 victory in Game 6 on Friday.
“We’ve been in big games before. Everyone in this team has been in big games,” stated Vegas captain Mark Stone. “It’s a do-or-die situation. We played aggressively on Friday. We’re in the same situation now.”
The Knights are preparing for their fourth Game 7 in franchise history, the first since 2021 when Pete DeBoer was their coach. However, 22 of the 27 players on their postseason roster were part of last year’s Cup-winning team, which included a dominant 6-0 win against Dallas in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final.
The team that wins will move on to the second round to face a well-rested Colorado team. Colorado finished their first-round series against Winnipeg with a win in Game 5 last Tuesday. If the Stars win, they will start the second round at home, while the Knights will continue to play away games.
In the only other NHL playoff game on Sunday, the second round begins in the Eastern Conference with Carolina facing the top-seeded New York Rangers.
DeBoer has a perfect record of 7-0 as a coach in Game 7s for four different teams. His only previous Game 7 with the Stars was at home against Seattle in the second round last year.
He has been involved in every Game 7 for the Knights, including their only victories in 2020 and 2021. He was also on the opposing side with San Jose when the Sharks defeated them in a seven-game series in 2019.
