On Sunday night, the Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the Western Conference Finals by eliminating the Edmonton Oilers. It was a series filled with tons of elite skill and Vegas prevailed.
They then awaited the winner of Monday night’s game seven between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken. Either way, we knew the battle for the West would be amazing.
Game seven was a match that started with lots of chances for both sides but each goalie was solid. It wasn’t until 15:59 of the second period that we saw a goal finally scored.
Roope Hintz scored his 9th goal of the playoffs to get the Stars up 1-0. At 12:48 of the third, Wyatt Johnston also scored (and it was a beauty), so Dallas had a 2-0 advantage.
With the Seattle netminder pulled, Oliver Bjorgstrand made it a one-goal game, but the Stars hung on for the 2-1 victory. It was a great effort at the end by the Kraken, but it wasn’t enough to pull off another miracle.
The Dallas Stars will face the Vegas Golden Knights in round number three.
Most of the games in this series weren’t that great, but game seven was everything you’d ever want in a winner-take-all game. It was good to see the Dallas Stars find a way to pull it out.
Seattle deserves praise for how far they made it in the end. For being a two-year-old franchise, they did amazing. Literally, everyone on the team stood out at different points, which allowed them to make it so far.
As for the Stars, they got what they needed. The old guard, guys like Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Joe Pavelski, did their job to the fullest extent. It allowed superstars like Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston to have big games all throughout.
Dallas also gets a ton of elite play from their goaltender and defense. Jake Oettinger had some struggles at certain points of the playoffs, but he seems to be back to being his elite self again now.
With studs like Miro Heiskanen, Ryan Suter, and Esa Lindell amongst others in front of Oettinger, they can be tough to score on when they are playing well.
It should be really entertaining seeing this group clash with Vegas, who really doesn’t have any holes. There are superstars on both sides and a very deep group of skaters. Dallas has the edge in goal, but Vegas has the edge on defense. It will be a fun series.
Of course, the winner of this series will face the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers Eastern Conference Final with the Stanley Cup on the line. This should be good.