Stars end Kraken’s run in Game 7, set up series vs. Knights

DALLAS — The Stars eliminated the Seattle Kraken with a 2-1 win in Game 7 on Monday, thanks to a strong defensive effort in front of goalie Jake Oettinger.

Forwards Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston had the goals for the Stars, who will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference finals beginning Friday night in Nevada.

Dallas and Vegas previously met in the conference finals in 2020, when the Stars eliminated the Golden Knights in five games. Current Dallas coach Peter DeBoer was the coach for the Golden Knights in the prior series; he was fired in 2022 after three campaigns and took over the Dallas bench last summer.

With the win over Seattle, DeBoer moved to 7-0 all time in Game 7s. He became just the third coach in NHL history to win a Game 7 with four different franchises — New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Vegas and Dallas.

After six games that saw a total of 49 goals scored between Dallas and Seattle, Game 7 was an intense goalie duel at American Airlines Center.

Oettinger (21 saves) improved to 24-2-3 this season in games after a loss. Oettinger was pulled in the Stars’ Game 6 defeat at Seattle that pushed the series to seven games.

“He has an elite mindset,” DeBoer said of Oettinger before Game 7. “He doesn’t let last game bleed into the next game.”

Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer also was outstanding, making 26 saves that included several high-danger chances from the Stars.

Hintz put the Stars up late in the second period. Defenseman Esa Lindell lobbed the puck from the Dallas defensive zone to the Seattle blue line, where Kraken defender Jamie Oleksiak tried to play it. But Hintz flew in and swiped the puck away, skating in unabated and snapping the puck over goalie Grubauer for the 1-0 lead that the Stars carried into the intermission. It was the ninth goal of the postseason for Hintz, tallied at 15:59 of the period.

It remained that way until rookie forward Johnston scored a brilliant goal at 12:48 of the third period, skating in quickly on the forecheck then flipping a backhand shot off the mask of Grubauer and into the net for the 2-0 lead.

While Johnston was born on May 14, 2003, fans in the upper deck sang “Happy Birthday” following the goal scored on May 15.

Seattle’s Oliver Bjorkstrand scored with 17.6 seconds left and the Kraken net empty to end Oettinger’s shutout bid.

For the Kraken, the loss ended the first postseason run for the 2-year-old franchise. They upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round before pushing Dallas to the limit.

“Both teams have had the ability to rise to the occasion at the right time in this series,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said before Monday’s contest. “It’s Game 7 with everything on the line. I would expect nothing less from both teams.”