The Seattle Kraken are perfect in Game 7s. It’s a small sample size because the second-year team is making its playoff debut, but the Kraken shocked the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
Now they will try to pull off a second road upset on Monday night as they visit the Dallas Stars (8 ET, ESPN) in a do-or-die game that will determine who meets the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final.
Seattle’s Jaden Schwartz, Justin Schultz and Vince Dunn are a combined 12-0 in Game 7s, but Stars coach Peter DeBoer is 6-0.
Monday’s game is exactly one year after the Stars’ last Game 7, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames, a game in which Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger made 64 saves.
Who will win Monday’s Game 7? USA TODAY Sports experts weigh in.
Stars 3, Kraken 2. Dallas’ Joe Pavelski is making his 10th appearance in a Game 7 and is 6-3 all-time. Given that experience and his second-round production (eight goals), count on him playing a big role in getting the Stars to the conference final for the second time in four years. Oettinger is 4-0 following a loss this postseason. —Mike Brehm
Stars 3, Kraken 2. Seattle has proven me a fool at every turn this postseason, but I’m still not prepared to pick the Kraken in this spot. Dallas has not lost two games in a row the entire postseason and it has home ice and Oettinger, who I expect to bounce back after he yielded four goals on 18 shots in Game 6. — Jace Evans
Stars 3, Kraken 1. I have the Stars winning the Stanley Cup, so I can’t give up on them now. Oettinger has had two good games in this series, but Philipp Grubauer has been just as wobbly (.865 save percentage). I still give Oettinger the edge overall, and I think Jason Robertson picks a good time to score his first goal of the series. — Jimmy Hascup
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kraken-Stars picks for Game 7 in NHL playoffs: Who moves on?