(Tony Gutierrez/AP)
From 16 teams to four teams. Both Conference Finals are set, but the top seed in the West road to the Cup will meet another tough test.
The Dallas Stars will play the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Western Conference Finals. This year’s Western Conference Finals features the past two runner-ups of the Western Conference Finals. The Stars lost last year to the Golden Knights and the Oilers lost to the Avalanche in 2022.
Since 1993, the Stars and Oilers have met each other six times in the Playoffs. The Stars are 5-1 all-time against the Oilers with the last Playoff matchup being in the 2003 first round when the Stars won in six games. 2024 will be the seventh meeting.
Dallas started its Cup journey by beating the past two Stanley Cup winners. Now, they must deal with two of the best players in the NHL Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers are coming off of a Game 7 road win in Vancouver against the Canucks for their second Conference Finals birth in two years.
How did the Stars play against the Oilers in the 2023-24 regular season? In three meetings, the Stars went 2-0-1. Each team earned a one-goal win in the first two meetings. Dallas won 4-3 in Edmonton on Nov. 2, but Edmonton earned a 4-3 overtime win in Dallas on Feb. 17.
However, in the third and final meeting, Dallas made a statement win. On April 3, Dallas earned a 5-0 win at home and scored four goals in the third period. Jake Oettinger recorded a 35-save shutout.
There is one major key that the Stars didn’t have in last year’s Western Conference Final that they will have this year: home ice advantage. Despite being 5-1 on the road in this year’s Playoffs, home ice advantage for a Conference Final is important.
The schedule is set for the Western Conference Final with Game 1 being on Thursday night at American Airlines Center with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Stars have lost their last six Game 1s in the Playoffs going back to 2022 against the Flames.
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