Western Conference Final | Duel between two clubs at the antipodes

The Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights are two atypical clubs at the antipodes.

Just take the 2017 draft. The Stars found three pillars of their foundation there: Jason Robertson, Jake Oettinger and Miro Heiskanen. The Golden Knights traded the three young players they drafted in the first round: Nick Suzuki, Cody Glass and Erik Brannstrom.

Either way, these two teams reach the semi-finals for the second time in four years and will be looking to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time since 2018.

The Stars have seven drafted and organizationally developed players within their top 9 offensive, their top 4 defensive or the number one goalkeeper position. The Golden Knights have none, but five of their players were obtained in the 2017 executive widening draft.

Vegas’ first center, Jack Eichel, was also secured against picks and prospects, number one defenseman, Alex Pietrangelo, was hired on the free agent market and goaltender, by default due to injuries, Adin Hill, was acquired for a fourth-round pick last summer. Do not try to imitate the recipe!

The Golden Knights have just eliminated the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers. The Stars, for their part, dismissed the tough Minnesota Wild and the Seattle Kraken, the Cinderella club that fell to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

The Stars are managed by Peter DeBoer, who was fired by the Golden Knights less than a year ago. DeBoer knows his opponents better than anyone. The Vegas club is run by former Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy, who was fired three weeks after DeBoer. Like what there is nothing wrong with recycling coaches…

Vegas and Dallas are tied in average goals scored and allowed per game since the start of the playoffs. But the Stars have a much higher power play efficiency rate at 31%, compared to 17% for Vegas.

The Knights are additionally 15^are and second-to-last shorthanded with a low 60%, but they were facing the Oilers, it should be noted.

Players to follow

Vegas: Jack Eichel

The Golden Knights gave Alex Tuch, first (Noah Östlund) and second-round picks, and youngster Peyton Krebs to get Eichel, but he’s the best forward in Vegas. He has 14 points in 11 playoff games and is more responsible defensively. He is also the club’s most used striker.

Dallas: Miro Heiskanen

Heiskanen is the most used player in the NHL playoffs. He spends on average almost half the game on the ice and shines in all circumstances. And he’s only 23.

Players under the radar

Vegas: Adin Hill

Hill has never had the opportunity to play more than 27 games in a season. The goaltender owes his place in the NHL this winter to the injury suffered by Logan Thompson, then Laurent Brossoit. He won the last two games of the series against Edmonton and Jonathan Quick finds himself on the bench.

Dallas: Evgenii Dadonov

The Stars are not bored of Denis Gurianov. Dadonov, the rental player obtained from the Canadiens for his services, already has 9 points in 13 playoff games, in the third line with Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn.