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Roope Hintz and the Dallas Stars are Western Conference Final bound for the first time since 2020 after winning a tight 2-1 Game 7 against the Seattle Kraken on Monday night — and the Stars leading playoff scorer is already looking forward to the challenge the Vegas Golden Knights present in the final four.
“They're also four lines, they play hard, they play a good forecheck,” Hintz said after Game 7, per NHL.com's David Satriano. “I think we've got to play like we played [Monday]…I think when we play fast and with our strength with four lines, I think we're good.”
The Stars and Golden Knights met in the West Final three seasons ago; Dallas won that series in five games, headlined by an overtime winner by Denis Gurianov in the series clincher.
But both teams are very different this season, and neither have been able to win that elusive Stanley Cup with their current cores.
Vegas has been to an astounding four WCFs in their six years in the league, but have won only one of them. In their inaugural season, they reached the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, losing in five games to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Dallas hasn't been back to the dance since losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer knows all about these Golden Knights; he spent three seasons as the bench boss in Vegas before being fired in May, 2022.
“There's a lot to unpack there,” DeBoer said after Monday's win. “I think we'll just enjoy tonight and talk about that as we go forward.”
The teams were separated by just three points in the regular season, and the Golden Knights will have home-ice advantage after winning the Pacific Division.
Roope Hintz will be a huge factor in the series; he's leading his team with nine goals and 19 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and is second in the playoffs behind just Connor McDavid.
Both of these squads are desperate for a Stanley Cup with their current core, and the West Final promises to be an excellent series in 2023.