The Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference Finals Monday night with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Round 2 Playoffs.
The Stars will face the Vegas Golden Knights in next month’s Stanley Cup Finals to determine who will represent the West.
After only two years as a team, the Kraken were aiming to reach the conference finals, but their hopes were dashed by the Stars’ rock-solid performances on both sides of the ice.
Goaltender Jake Ettinger needed only 22 saves thanks to a solid defense, allowing Dallas to convert two chances against Kraken goaltender Philip Gulbauer.
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With four minutes remaining in the second period, Lupe Hintz was the first to capitalize on a Kraken mistake. The Stars tried to flip the puck out of the zone for a line change, but Hintz had other things in mind when he leaped off the bench onto the ice.
Golden Knights beat Oilers to advance to Western Conference Finals
He charged into the blue, snatched the puck from Jamie Oleksiak, and found the top ledge over Grubauer’s right shoulder to put Dallas ahead 1-0.
And it was rookie Wyatt Johnston who found the puck on his stick in the Krakenzone after Evgeny Dadonov saw no one around and made a pass on the ice.
Johnston picked up the ball from the corner wall and headed for the net, this time flicking the puck over Gulbauer’s left shoulder for a 2-0 lead with 7:12 remaining in the third period.
Given the flow of the match, it felt like a dagger stuck in the Kraken’s back, but Seattle wasn’t about to give up so easily.
With 17.6 seconds remaining in the final, Oliver Björkstrand used a backhand to finally take the puck past Ettinger to make it 2-1. However, his reaction was depressing because the Kraken knew he still needed to achieve the impossible.
The net on the other side was still empty, but the Kraken won a draw in their own zone with nine seconds remaining. A final blow was thrown at Ettinger, but in vain. He brushed it off and snatched the victory for the Stars.
Dallas has three conference titles, but only one Stanley Cup. Their last win was in 2019-20, and their last Stanley Cup win was in 1998-99.
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The Western Conference finals kick off Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas.