DALLAS — Pete DeBoer met with his captain shortly after arriving in Texas. The message from the Dallas Stars head coach to Jamie Benn in June 2022 was clear. And the veteran forward was fully on board.
The message from the Dallas Stars head coach to Jamie Benn in June 2022 was clear."There's no agenda there," DeBoer recalled Wednesday."Other than wanting to win."
The Stars might not have 20 versions of Jamie Benn, but they have a committed, well-balanced attack heading into Thursday's Western Conference final opener against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the high-flying Edmonton Oilers. The 34-year-old winger has played more than 1,100 regular-season games in the NHL, fellow forward Joe Pavelski's number sits at over 1,300 contests, and defenceman Ryan Suter is just shy of 1,450."It's the only reason I'm playing," the 39-year-old Suter said of the chance to hoist hockey's holy grail.
Dallas, which captured its only title in 1999 and most recently made the final in 2020, qualified for last season's third round before falling to the eventual Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights. "A lot more experience," McDavid said of his team Wednesday evening after the Oilers arrived in rainy Dallas."Being in different situations, holding leads, needing to come back, whatever the situation, I feel like we've been in it the last couple of years.The Stars will have to be wary of an Oilers attack that, despite struggling at times against Vancouver, still tops the playoffs in goals and power-play percentage.
"You have to be at the point in your career where the No. 1 priority on your list is winning a Stanley Cup," DeBoer added."We've got a group of veterans that are at that point in their career. It's not about personal accolades or about money or about other things."
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