4 Oilers-Stars battles that'll decide huge rematch
The Dallas Stars are into their third consecutive Western Conference Final. The Edmonton Oilers aim to repeat as conference champions. Below are some of the battles that'll shape their best-of-seven rematch beginning Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in Texas.
Fantastic Finns vs. Oilers greats
The Stars wouldn't have won a round if playoff scoring leader Mikko Rantanen still played for Colorado or Carolina. Instead, they outscored the Jets 6-1 in his five-on-five minutes as the Finnish top line of Rantanen, Roope Hintz, and Mikael Granlund linked up for crucial goals. On defense, Miro Heiskanen is finally healthy to open a series and warrior Esa Lindell - one of the postseason's top shot-blockers - will be deployed to slow Connor McDavid.
That's a monstrous assignment: McDavid's exceeded a point per game in 11 straight playoff series since 2022. More than a quarter of his outings in the span (17 of 64) were three-point efforts.
Almost as consistent as McDavid, Leon Draisaitl constantly flashes his elite one-timer, puck protection, passing skills, and shutdown defensive chops. Evan Bouchard's explosive production and increasingly reliable defense have softened the blow of missing Mattias Ekholm.
Depth scoring
Edmonton's outscored Dallas 43-34 in two fewer games played. Eight Oilers forwards have at least three goals, and head coach Kris Knoblauch spreads these weapons throughout the lineup.
The projected third line of Adam Henrique between Connor Brown and Evander Kane can produce, defend, grind, and agitate. Current fourth-liner Corey Perry is one of several wingers who can rotate onto McDavid's flank and thrive.
The Stars crave greater balance. Wyatt Johnston and breakout defenseman Thomas Harley supplement the Rantanen line's dominance with four goals apiece. But six underperforming forwards - Jamie Benn, Evgenii Dadonov, Matt Duchene, Mason Marchment, Jason Robertson, and Tyler Seguin - have combined to bury only five of 98 shots on target. None found the net against Winnipeg, and Duchene's stuck in his worst goal drought ever (17 games).
Skinner vs. Oettinger
Some goalies run hot and cold. Stuart Skinner's either frigid or scalding. The Edmonton netminder briefly lost his starting gig for a second straight postseason, but his admirable response was to eliminate the Golden Knights with back-to-back shutouts, a career first.
Excluding Draisaitl's own goal in Game 3 against Vegas, Skinner hasn't let in a direct shot in 150 minutes, 14 seconds - the equivalent of two-and-a-half regulation matchups.
Skinner's postseason stats (.884 save percentage, 0.09 goals saved above expected) still pale next to Jake Oettinger's (.919 SV%, 10.39 GSAx as tracked by Evolving-Hockey). Since Oettinger took over the Dallas net in 2022, he ranks second in the NHL with 58 playoff starts and sparkled in most of those games (33 with a SV% above .920). He's built a reputation for stoning offensive powerhouses.
Special teams
The 2024 Oilers entered the conference finals with a preposterous 128.9% combined success rate on special teams. They scored on 37.5% of power plays and killed 91.4% of penalties. Staying on trend, Edmonton proceeded to blank Dallas' power play for six games and won the series despite being outscored at even strength and held to 10 shots on net in the 2-1 clincher.
This year's edge belongs to the Stars for a few reasons.
One is their own prowess (116.9% special teams success rate). Edmonton's penalty kill folded like a table against the Kings, who peppered Skinner with glorious chances, and is operating at 66.7% overall. The Oilers power play can be destructive but has only received 2.18 opportunities per game - far fewer than the Stars (3.00), Edmonton in the regular season (2.62), and Edmonton throughout the '24 playoffs (3.00).
Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.