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American Airlines Center won’t be able to host the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks in the championship at the same times as for the second consecutive season, a trip to the Western Conference Finals resulted in the same result for the Stars.
The Dallas Stars have been eliminated in the 2024 Western Conference Finals in six games by the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place with the 2-1 loss. The Oilers complete the comeback trailing 2-1 in the series, to winning the next three games. The Stars outshot the Oilers 35-10 in the game. After the Stars took an early 2-0 lead in the first period in Game 4, they were outscored 10-2 in the final eight periods.
The 2024 Stanley Cup Finals matchup will feature Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Last season, the Golden Knights eliminated the Stars in the Western Conference Finals in six games. This season, the Oilers did it.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Prior to the game, head coach Pete DeBoer inserted the 2023-24 AHL MVP Mavrik Bourque into the lineup for Ty Dellandrea.
Even with being outshot 12-3 in the first period, the Oilers scored two powerplay goals by Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman’s Playoff leading 14th. McDavid’s goal was the first of the game and it was more than a sick goal to say the least. Like the Oilers, the Stars had two powerplay chances in the first period, but couldn’t capitalize.
The second period remained scoreless as Oiler goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped all 21 shots through 40 minutes. The closest Dallas got to scoring in the period was Roope Hintz hitting a post.
After the Stars dropped to 0-14 on the powerplay in the series early in the third period, Mason Marchment got the Stars on the board with 10:42 remaining in regulation, but that would be it. Dallas outshot Edmonton 14-2 in the third period.
The Oilers have won the Western Conference for the first time since 2006; the Oilers fell in seven games to the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Canadiens did it over the Kings.
With the season over, Dallas will have a lot of thinking to do. Some of Dallas’ free agents this upcoming off-season include Chris Tanev, Matt Duchene, Joe Pavelski, Sam Steel, Jani Hakanpää and Scott Wedgewood. Unable to get over the hump in the Conference Finals again, Dallas can be a team to make a big splash for a player in the Summer.
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