Edmonton Oilers could play Game 1 vs the Dallas Stars without the Stars' top goaltender.
Edmonton Oilers could play Game 1 vs the Dallas Stars without the Stars' top goaltender.
EDMONTON -- Game one is on the horizon.
The Edmonton Oilers will begin their second Western Conference Final series in three years tomorrow night. They will play the Dallas Stars in what should be a very entertaining series to say the least.
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Both teams were great - but the Stars were a more consistent team. They didn't go through the same 3-9-1 start that the Oilers did. On paper, they look like an incredibly deep team.
One position that is not a place of strength for the Stars is in net. Jake Oettinger is their top guy - there is no question there. In 13 playoff games he has an 8-5 record to go along with a 2.09 goals against average (GAA) and a .918 save percentage (SV%).
After Oettinger it's a steep drop off to the next in line - Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood hasn't played a lick of the playoffs this season. During the regular season he had a 28-16-7 record with a 2.85 GAA and an .899 SV%.
Goaltending is going to be a huge part of this series - which makes some news from the Stars practice this morning something for Oilers fans to keep their eyes on.
Oettinger left practice early and the Stars head coach Pete DeBoer is expecting Oettinger to be ready to go for Game one. It is being reported that he is dealing with an illness.
This leaves his status up in the air about tomorrow. It's possible that he is ready to go - but given that he left practice early there is the possibility that his condition gets worse before it gets better. If the latter is true over the former, that could be a massive blow to the Stars team.
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Regardless of who is starting for the Stars, the Oilers will need to play their best game every night to beat the incredibly talented Stars team.
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