The Dallas Stars advanced to their second straight appearance in the Western Conference Final after defeating the Colorado Avalanche in six games in their second-round series. Dallas will open the conference final at home on Thursday, May 23, against the Edmonton Oilers, who eliminated the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-2 win in Game 7 of their series.
The Stars eliminated the Avalanche with a thrilling double-overtime win in Game 6. Matt Duchene scored the game-winning goal that vaulted Dallas into its second straight conference final. The Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Stars in six games last season en-route to winning the Stanley Cup.
Dallas won the Western Conference Final in 2020, finishing off the Golden Knights in five games. However, the Stars lost in six games in the Stanley Cup Final that year to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After finishing the 2023-24 regular season first in the West with 113 points, the Stars will have home-ice advantage in this series. The Oilers were second in the Pacific Division with 104 points.
Edmonto’s series against Vancouver was as close as two teams can play. Six of the seven games were decided by one goal. The Oilers rallied from a 3-2 series deficit to win the final two games, including Game 7 on the road.
The Oilers are first in the postseason on both the power play (37.5 percent) and penalty kill (91.4 percent). They also have the top four scorers in the playoffs: Leon Draisaitl (24 points), Connor McDavid (21), Evan Bouchard (20) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (16).
During the regular season, the Stars took two of three games against the Oilers. They won 4-3 in Edmonton on Nov. 2 and 5-0 at home April 3. The Oilers lone win was 4-3 in overtime in Dallas on Feb. 17.
The winner of the Western Conference Final will meet the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Related: Rangers vs. Panthers; schedule, results, TV info for Eastern Conference Final
Stars vs. Oilers: schedule, results, TV info for 2024 Eastern Conference Final
Here’s what you need to know for the best-of-7 Western Conference Final series in 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Game 1: Oilers 3 – Stars 2 2OT (Edmonton leads 1-0)
Game 2: Stars 3 – Oilers 1 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: Stars 5 – Oilers 3 (Dallas leads 2-1)
Game 4: Oilers 5 – Stars 2 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: Oilers 3 – Stars 1 (Edmonton leads 3-2)
Game 6: Oilers 2 – Stars 1 (Edmonton wins 4-2)