EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Two days after they and the Vegas Golden Knights each won a hard-fought Game 7 to move on, the Dallas Stars figured there might be an emotional letdown at the start of the Western Conference final.

They filled that void with hit after hit, got one early goal, and played the trademark lockdown style that made them one of the best defensive teams in the NHL during the regular season. The result was a hard-hitting 1-0 victory in Game 1 on Sunday night that served notice to Vegas that a spot in the Stanley Cup Final won’t come easily.

“We were skating, we were on top of them, we were creating a lot of offense from good play, good defensive structure all over the ice,” coach Rick Bowness said. “That’s Dallas Stars hockey.”

That brand of hockey worked especially well after John Klingberg scored on the Stars’ first shot 2:36 in and with goaltender Anton Khudobin locked in. Khudobin’s rebound control was excellent in stopping all 25 Vegas shots he faced on the way to his first shutout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“It always goes to your career record,” said Khudobin, who entered this year without a postseason start on that record. “At the same time, most of it, I’m happy with the win.”

The recipe for this win was a barrage of hits. In true Stars fashion, the game had almost double the amount of total hits (96) than shots on goal (50).

With physicality the focus, Dallas took it to top-seeded Vegas, which has the size to bang bodies but couldn’t match the Stars’ jump from the drop of the puck.

“It took us a while to get our legs going,” Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “We didn’t come out to play from the start of the game.”

The Stars came out hitting and got the boost they needed when it looked like surprise Vegas starter Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t get reset after Dallas captain Jamie Benn’s shot attempt was blocked, and Klingberg fired the loose puck past him into the net.

Playing with a lead allowed Dallas players to throw their bodies around. If the Golden Knights didn’t know what to expect from the Stars, they do now, and the competition level will be higher than the first two rounds.

“This is going to be a different series,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “They’re a heavy, veteran team and you’ve got to work to get inside and you’ve got to work for pucks and puck battles. They’re not going to hand you offense, and you’ve got to be willing to compete for pucks.”

After having the play dictated to them for the first two periods, the Golden Knights dominated the third but couldn’t crack Khudobin, who has been thrust into the No. 1 role with Ben Bishop injured. As good as Khudobin was, Fleury matched him almost save for save, stopping 23 after allowing the goal to Klingberg.

“He was fresh. He’s played well against Dallas, and he gave us a great game,” DeBoer said. “I thought he was our best player.”

But Fleury couldn’t help his teammates generate offense, and they were shut out for the second time in three games. Credit on that goes to the Stars, who took advantage of suspended Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves′ absence to set a more physical tone to begin this series.

“It was a good effort,” Benn said. “We played on our toes tonight, found a way to get one early there, and I thought (Khudobin) made a lot of great saves, especially in the third period, and we found a way to squeak it out.”

NOTES: This was the Stars’ first 1-0 regulation playoff win since 2000, the year after they won the Cup. ... Nick Cousins replaced Reaves in the lineup and delivered a big hit early. ... Mattias Janmark played for Dallas after leaving Game 7 against Colorado with injury. ... Bishop and defenseman Stephen Johns remained unfit to play for the Stars. ... Forward Andrew Cogliano was a healthy scratch so Dallas could keep Game 7 hero Joel Kiviranta in. ... Fleury started for just the fourth time in the postseason. Robin Lehner played the other 12.

UP NEXT

Game 2 is Tuesday after the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders open the East final Monday.

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Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba is the 2019-20 recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced Sunday.

The honor is awarded annually to the player "who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

Dumba is one of the most vocal NHL players on the subjects of racial injustice and inequality. In June, he co-founded the Hockey Diversity Alliance, whose mission is to eliminate systemic racism and intolerance in the game.

On Aug. 1, the 26-year-old gave a passionate speech addressing those issues and then became the first NHL player to kneel during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Chicago Blackhawks. One day later, he raised his fist during both anthems before Minnesota's matchup with the Vancouver Canucks.

Dumba started the "Rebuild Minnesota" project to help local businesses affected by protests stemming from the death of George Floyd in police custody. He pledged to match all donations up to $100,000 for that cause, according to the Star-Tribune's Randy Johnson.

The Wild rearguard also assisted over 60 families with COVID-19 support amid the outbreak of the pandemic and donated over $11,000 toward Australia's wildfire relief in January.

New Jersey Devils blue-liner P.K. Subban and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist were the other two finalists.

This is the second straight year the award went to a Wild player - Jason Zucker, now of the Pittsburgh Penguins, took home the honor in 2019 while with Minnesota.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will start goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for Game 1 against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, the team announced.

Fleury has started just three games so far this postseason, while teammate Robin Lehner has appeared in 12, including the club's Game 7 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Since Sep. 1, Lehner has started three games and stopped 48 of the 53 shots he faced, including a shutout in Game 7 to help send Vegas to the Western Conference Final.

Fleury has won all three of the contests he's appeared in so far this postseason. He played once during the round-robin, once against the Chicago Blackhawks, and once against the Canucks. His last start was on Aug. 30.

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos won't be available for the Eastern Conference Final versus the New York Islanders, head coach Jon Cooper announced Sunday.

Stamkos has been nursing an unspecified lower-body injury since Phase 2 of the NHL's return-to-play plan and hasn't suited up this postseason.

The 30-year-old sniper also missed time during the regular season as he underwent core-muscle surgery in February. He notched 29 goals and 37 assists in 66 games.

The Lightning have managed a 10-3 record despite Stamkos' absence following the league's hiatus.

Game 1 starts Monday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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The NHL released the Western and Eastern Conference Final schedules Sunday.

All games will be played in the Edmonton bubble beginning Sunday evening, with the Western Conference Final kicking things off.

Golden Knights vs. Stars

* - If necessary

Lightning vs. Islanders

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This is the second edition of theScore's rankings of the top candidates to be named 2019-20 playoff MVP. We've only featured players still competing in the postseason, which officially includes the qualifying round and round-robin stage.

5. Mark Stone

Stone contributes more to team wins than most players do. The gifted Vegas Golden Knights winger posted a point per game in the first two rounds and round-robin play, recording six goals and nine assists in 15 contests.

Stone also plays a critical shutdown role on the defensive end, frequently being tasked with containing some of the most dynamic stars in the league on the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks in Rounds 1 and 2, respectively.

The 28-year-old possesses a blistering 69.69% expected goals rate at 5-on-5 entering the Western Conference Final, and his scoring chances for (62.5%) and Corsi For (60.93%) figures only underscore his value further.

4. Shea Theodore

It's safe to say the Anaheim Ducks are still kicking themselves for trading Theodore to the Golden Knights at the 2017 expansion draft, and the defenseman is making his old club regret that decision more than ever this postseason.

This list's No. 1 is the only player with more points among blue-liners heading into the conference finals - Theodore's produced six goals and 10 assists in 15 games in just over 22 minutes of ice time.

The 25-year-old is particularly formidable lately, burying two goals in the last three games ahead of Round 3 and amassing two goals and eight assists over a seven-game span, including three multi-point efforts from Aug. 16-Sept. 1.

3. Brayden Point

Point is certainly living up to his last name in these playoffs, and his production is critical to the Tampa Bay Lightning's success, especially in the absence of injured captain Steven Stamkos.

Entering the conference finals, the 24-year-old forward led all NHL skaters still competing with 1.38 points per game. He's collected six goals and 12 assists in 13 games played through the first two rounds and the round-robin stage. He only earned two of his 18 points on the power play - and both were helpers - making his output look even more impressive.

Point occasionally gets overlooked because of the Lightning's catalog of superstars, but he's a game-changer in his own right. The skilled center boasts terrific possession figures entering Round 3, going above 60% in expected goals for (65.22), scoring chances for (60.95), and Corsi For (61.26) at 5-on-5.

2. Andrei Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy does have a potent offense in front of him, but he deserves ample recognition for his stellar performance this postseason.

The Lightning goaltender is pacing the remaining puck-stoppers with a .931 save percentage in all situations, and a 6.03 goals saved above average at 5-on-5 alongside his 10-3 record. A 45-save effort against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 padded those numbers, but he authored a commendable .927 save percentage in the 12 previous contests.

Vasilevskiy mounted his accomplishments while facing more shots than all but Jacob Markstrom, Anton Khudobin, and Carter Hart through second-round play.

1. Miro Heiskanen

It's rare to see someone so young become the most valuable still-competing player in the conference finals, but that's what Heiskanen is.

The 21-year-old led all active skaters in playoff points with 21 in 16 games heading into the third round, while averaging nearly 26 minutes of ice time.

That's remarkable, considering not just the Dallas Stars defenseman's age, but his position. Heiskanen is also effectively driving possession - his expected goals for (53.53), scoring chances for (52.59), and Corsi For (50.71) percentages at 5-on-5 are all favorable through the second round.

Honorable mentions: Josh Bailey, Robin Lehner, Nikita Kucherov, Mathew Barzal, Victor Hedman, Denis Gurianov, Alex Tuch.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

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The Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars both left it late in Round 2 but moved on to the Western Conference Final by edging out their respective opponents in pivotal Game 7s.

Vegas finished 2019-20 regular season with the third-best record in the West, while Dallas finished with the fourth. With two dynamic teams set to butt heads for a chance to play for the Stanley Cup, let's take a look at the upcoming series.

Schedule

Game 1 is set for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Times for the rest of the series have yet to be announced.

Tale of the tape

How they got here

Stars: Dallas didn't look very threatening in the round robin, finishing 1-2 and scoring just five goals. It seemed like the Stars were headed toward an early exit after dropping two of the first three games of their opening-round series against the Calgary Flames. Then they flipped the switch.

Since Game 4 of that series, the Stars have scored an impressive 42 goals in 10 games.

After going up 3-1 against the Colorado Avalanche, the Stars hit a speed bump and ultimately needed seven games and overtime in the deciding match to advance.

Golden Knights: Vegas was one of the league's hottest teams toward the end of the regular season, finishing the year with 11 wins in 13 games. They nabbed the top seed in the round robin with a perfect 3-0 record and took care of the Chicago Blackhawks in five games in Round 1.

Vegas looked like it was in for another quick series after going up 3-1 against the Vancouver Canucks in Round 2, but Thatcher Demko stepped into the crease and nearly stole the series.

The Golden Knights managed 273 shots on goal in the second-round series but only potted 19 goals. They dominated the Canucks in nearly every facet of the game but ultimately needed an exhausting extra few games to progress.

Key players to watch

Miro Heiskanen

Many people were already aware of his special talent, but this postseason has really felt like Heiskanen's true coming-out party. The 21-year-old Finnish phenomenon has been electric since the beginning of the postseason and is one of the main reasons the Stars find themselves a step away from the Stanley Cup Final.

He leads all active players in these playoffs with 21 points and has been Dallas' best player by far, getting things done on both ends of the ice.

Mark Stone

Stone has continued to show through this postseason that he's one of the league's best all-around players. He's contributed six goals and nine assists in 15 games for Vegas thus far, but his contributions go much deeper than his point totals.

At even strength, Stone owns a 60.93 Corsi For rating and a 69.69 expected goals for percentage. His team has generated 72 high-danger scoring chances with him on the ice and conceded just 43 against. His 13 takeaways rank fourth among all forwards. Opponents need to keep an eye on him at all times when he's on the ice, as he simply does it all.

Dallas can win if ...

As obvious as it sounds, the Stars simply need to continue scoring. With goaltender Anton Khudobin expected to carry the load in net, Dallas will need to continue to support him as much as possible - they surrendered 29 goals - 4.14 per game - to the Avalanche last round.

Between the regular season and postseason, Khudobin has already played in 44 games - exceeding his career high of 41 last season. Fatigue is likely to set in while Ben Bishop remains unfit to play, so Dallas will need to step up in front of him.

The Stars ranked 28th in the league in goals per game (2.58) during the regular season, so they'll need to build on their newfound scoring touch if they want a shot at toppling Vegas.

Vegas can win if ...

The Golden Knights have been doing almost everything right so far this postseason. At five-on-five, Vegas leads all postseason teams with a 60.62 Corsi For rating and 64.11 expected goals for percentage. The Golden Knights control play at both ends and don't give teams much room to breathe.

If there's one thing to point out, it's that Vegas needs to continue to ride Robin Lehner in net. He's a key reason why the team has allowed so few goals this postseason, and he certainly can't be blamed for Vegas' losses against Vancouver. He gives the Golden Knights the best chance to win, and it seems he has their full trust. Marc-Andre Fleury has been the No. 1 starter since the team's inception in 2017, but Lehner's been spectacular since arriving at the trade deadline. He's started 12 of his team's 15 games this postseason, and that shouldn't change moving forward.

X-factors

Tyler Seguin

After one of the quietest regular seasons of his career, Seguin hasn't been his usual dynamic self this postseason, either. He's totaled just two goals and five assists through 15 games, so the Stars would greatly benefit if the 28-year-old can break through this series.

Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov, Denis Gurianov, and Jamie Benn have combined for 28 of Dallas' 53 goals this postseason. If Seguin can regain his scoring touch, Vegas could struggle to contain the Stars' offense.

Shea Theodore

Theodore is quietly leading the Golden Knights in points with 16. He was the only player able to score a goal - he did so twice - on Demko last series. He sits third on the team with 22:20 minutes of ice time per game. It may not be obvious, but Theodore has been vital to the Golden Knights' success.

His 69.70 expected goals for percentage at five-on-five ranks first among all defensemen this postseason. He's helped generate 86 high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five, which ranks first among all skaters. He's been nothing short of incredible this postseason, and if he can maintain his momentum, Vegas will find itself in a good position to advance.

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