Vegas Golden Knights vs Dallas Stars Game 1: Preview, lines, predictions, where to watch | 2023 NHL Westen Conference Final

The Western Conference Finals kick off on Friday for Game 1 as the Dallas Stars takes on the Vegas Golden Knights. The winner of the series advances to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Stars are coming off a seven-game series win over the Seattle Kraken while the Golden Knights defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

Game 1 is scheduled for Friday in Vegas at 8:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch the Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Knights

TV: ESPN, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports.

The Dallas Stars won their first series against the Minnesota Wild in six games but needed all seven games to get past the Kraken. Part of the reason why the Stars have had success is due to defenseman Miro Heiskanen, which head coach Peter DeBoer calls a special player.

"I've had really good offensive defensemen, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson (both while coaching the San Jose Sharks) that could defend and did a good job but weren't defense-first-mentality guys," DeBoer said.

"Miro has that special mindset where he takes a lot of pride in defending and shutting the other team down and making sure he's not scored against when he's on the ice. He never cheats to create points or offense at the expense of that, and that's rare for an elite offensive defenseman. So, I haven't had a guy quite like him."

The Vegas Golden Knights, meanwhile, have been led by goaltender Adin Hill, who stepped in after Laurent Brossoit got injured. Hill is Vegas' fifth goalie this season but says he has always been confident that he can play at this level.

"I've always had that confidence in my game," Hill said. "It's been an interesting ride in pro hockey for me, kind of up, down and all over the place. But it's been fun and I've always had confidence in my game.

"Right now, I feel like I'm playing good. I've had that confidence being on a good team and I feel like we may have the best defense corps in the League when you look at our group. When I got traded here, I was excited because I know the expectations here and I'm trying to fulfill the expectations of these guys."

X-Factor: When the Dallas Stars win games, goaltender Jake Oettinger is nearly impossible to beat and that was the case in Game 7 against the Kraken. Yet, in these playoffs, we have seen him get pulled multiple times, so if the Stars are going to win this series, Oettinger will need to play at a high level.

Dallas Stars projected lineup

• Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
• Marchment-Domi-Seguin
• Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
• Glendening-Faksa-Dellandrea

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• Suter-Heiskanen
• Lindell-Hakanpaa
• Harley-Hanley

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• Oettinger
• Wedgewood

Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup

• Barbashev-Eichel-Marchessault
• Howden-Stephenson-Stone
• Smith-Karlsson-Roy
• Carrier-Blueger-Kolesar

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• Matinez-Pietrangelo
• McNabb-Theodore
• Hauge-Whitecloud

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• Hill
• Quick

Stars vs Golden Knights prediction

The Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights should be a great series that is back-and-forth and could very well go seven games.

Vegas was able to shut down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as their defense core is one of the best in the league. The Golden Knights offense is also solid but whether or not they will be able to score on Oettinger is uncertain.

I like Dallas in Game 1 here as I expect Oettinger to stand on his head and I think Hill will regress to his usual self.

Dallas Stars 4, Vegas Golden Knights 2