Break Down Of The Golden Knights And Stars Playoff Matchup
After meeting in last year's Western Conference Finals, the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars are set to meet in the first round of the 2023-24 NHL Playoffs.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports - Break Down Of The Golden Knights And Stars Playoff MatchupAfter meeting in last year's Western Conference Finals, the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars are set to meet in the first round of the 2023-24 NHL Playoffs.
Firstly let's look at the differences between last year compared to this year. The Golden Knights had home-ice advantage in the series last time but it'll be the Stars who have home-ice advantage. Reilly Smith and Teddy Blueger featured last year for the Golden Knights but won't this year. Replacing them are Anthony Mantha and Tomas Hertl. Noah Hanifin has also been added on the back end for the Golden Knights.
For the Stars, they won't have Luke Glendening, Max Domi and Joel Kiviranta. Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, they've replaced them with Matt Duchene, Logan Stankoven and Sam Steel. They also added Chris Tanev who is the perfect stylistic fit for the Stars. Duchene finished third on the Stars in points and before Stankoven was called up to the NHL, he was leading the AHL in points. They've also been blessed with the continued development of Wyatt Johnston. The 20-year-old scored 32 goals and 65 points in his second season in the NHL.
Johnston and Duchene's success can also be viewed as a product of how the Stars play. They have incredible depth on forward and defence. Strong skating and puck-moving defensemen who aren't afraid to jump into the rush blends nicely with the attacking nature of the Stars' offence. The Stars finished the season with six players who scored at least 60 points and nine players who scored at least 50. They also had eight players score at least 20 goals. Thomas Harley scored 15 goals and 47 points and was still second on his team in points by a defenseman.
The Stars aren't reliant on a select few players to produce. They can beat you with all four lines. Head Coach Bruce Cassidy spoke about the Stars game this year compared to last.
"Not a lot has changed. I think they're playing it better" said Cassidy. "So we got to be on top of our game. I think they are generating more on the rush this year that probably has to do with Duchene, he's a pretty good hockey player making plays, than maybe a year ago, the stats may or may not back that up. But in general, I still think they have similar styles. They're gonna they're gonna direct a lot of pucks to the net with tips and screens. They're very good at that they're probably the best team in the league a deflection Pavelski himself must be easily in the top three in that area."
The numbers back up the Stars' success this season. They are third in goals-per-game, 11th in shots per game, sixth in power play percentage and fourth in shooting percentage. Defensively they were eighth in goals allowed per game, seventh in shots allowed, eighth in penalty kill percentage and were the most disciplined team only taking 6.8 penalty minutes per game.
The numbers for the Golden Knights are 13th in goals-per-game, 14th in shots, 20th in power play percentage and 13th in shooting percentage. Defensively they are 11th in goals allowed per game, 20th in shots allowed and 16th in penalty kill percentage.
The stats don't perfectly resemble what the Golden Knights are. They've played nearly the entire season with multiple injuries while the Stars have been relatively healthy.
Where the Stars may have another advantage is in goal. Jake Oettinger is having a bit of a down year by his standards but if he gets hot he can single-handedly win a games for the Stars. Oettinger played in 54 games and finished the season with a 2.72GAA and a .905SV%. Logan Thompson is the game 1 starter for the Golden Knights and he finished with a .270GAA with a .908SV% in 46 games.
Last year's WCF came down to goaltending and it didn't work out too great for the Stars. Oettinger posted a .877SV% and Hill posted a .938SV% for the Golden Knights.
For the Golden Knights to win this series they'll need to be relentless on the forecheck. Anytime a puck is dumped in they need to get to the Stars defensemen before they start skating up the ice, limiting odd-man rushes. The Golden Knights will also need to find ways to have stretches of offensive zone time. Cycling the puck and tiring out the Stars can be a deciding factor. Mark Stone's return to the lineup can help the Golden Knights with both aspects.
In all, the series will be tightly contested and a treat to watch with both teams having fire power all over the ice.
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