Stars coach Pete DeBoer says he’ll take a Game 7 at house any day of the week. He has one other one Monday evening, although his first with Dallas.
The Seattle Kraken, of their first postseason, are already taking part in their second Game 7 on the street.
“I think pressure is going to be on both teams,” stated Kraken ahead Jordan Eberle, who had two targets of their 6-3 win Saturday evening. “I think for us, we’ve obviously been through this as a group once.”
The NHL’s lone playoff recreation Monday between the Stars and Kraken might be solely the fourth Game 7 within the league this postseason. There had been 5 Game 7s within the first spherical final yr, then no extra in these playoffs.
In the one recreation Sunday evening, Vegas received 5-2 at Edmonton to wrap up the opposite West collection in six video games. The Golden Knights may have house ice for the Western Conference Final towards Dallas or Seattle.
While the West nonetheless had yet one more collection unsettled, the East Conference Final matchup was already set after the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers each wrapped up their second-round collection in 5 video games.
PHOTOS: Seattle goes 7 once more, this time towards Stars in NHL’s solely playoff recreation Monday
DeBoer has received all six of his earlier Game 7s, which got here with three totally different groups. Five of these wins had been at house, with the opposite within the 2020 playoffs throughout the pandemic within the NHL’s bubble in Canada.
“The reason you play all season is to have home ice in a Game 7 like this, and we’ve earned that,” DeBoer stated. “Hopefully we’ll use that to our benefit.”
His first with the Stars will come precisely one yr after their 3-2 time beyond regulation loss in Game 7 at Calgary.
Jake Oettinger had 64 saves in that recreation towards the Flames earlier than Johnny Gaudreau’s OT aim ended the first-round collection. The 24-year-old Stars goalie gave up 4 targets on 18 photographs Saturday earlier than he was pulled 4 1/2 minutes into the second interval – he’s 4-0 after losses this postseason.
“We didn’t give him any help, and this is a grind,” DeBoer stated. “At that point, we’re looking for a spark for the team, looking down the road to make sure Jake’s got (energy), the fresher goalie for Game 7. All those things come into play.”
Seattle ahead Jaden Schwartz is 5-0 in Game 7s in his profession, together with wins with St. Louis over Dallas in 2016 and 2019.
The Kraken wrapped up their opening spherical with a Game 7 win at Colorado, when Oliver Bjorkstrand scored each targets and Yanni Gourde assisted on each, to remove final yr’s Stanley Cup champion.
“I’m sure there’s some things that we can apply, but this is a different series,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol stated. “Not only are we playing an opponent that has great players, high-end guys at the top of their lineup, but their depth is good. … A little bit different look going into Game 7.”
SENIOR SCORING
Joe Pavelski has eight targets towards Seattle, already a Stars franchise report for a single playoff collection. No NHL participant has scored extra targets in a single postseason at age 38 or older.
His 72 profession postseason targets are essentially the most by a U.S.-born participant. That matches Alex Ovechkin for essentially the most amongst lively gamers, and 14th on the all-time checklist.
The 38-year-old Pavelski will play in his tenth profession Game 7 – solely 9 lively gamers have appeared in that many. It is his third with Dallas.
GRUB’S GAME 7s
Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 20 photographs on Saturday, was spectacular within the clincher towards the Avalanche with 34 saves.
In his solely different Game 7, Grubauer was Colorado’s goalie within the 2019 playoffs and had 27 saves in a 3-2 loss within the second spherical at San Jose, when DeBoer was the Sharks coach and Pavelski their captain. The profitable goalie that recreation was Martin Jones, now Grubauer’s backup in Seattle.
STARS IN SEVEN
The final Game 7 for the Stars was throughout the second spherical of 2020 playoffs within the NHL bubble, when Joel Kiviranti had a hat trick after scoring 7 1/2 minutes into time beyond regulation towards Colorado. The secondary help on the game-winner got here from Jamie Oleksiak, who Seattle bought within the enlargement draft two years in the past.
Dallas’ final Game 7 at house was throughout the second spherical in 2016, when St. Louis scored three targets within the first interval and received 6-1. Those two groups went the space once more within the second spherical in 2019, when the Blues received 2-1 in double OT at house on method to profitable the Stanley Cup.
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