Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are not for the faint of heart, but the Dallas Stars had to be confident knowing they had Pete DeBoer on their side. Their coach is as successful as it gets when his teams play in Game 7s, as he entered Sunday’s contest against the Vegas Golden Knights 7-0.
He exited the game with his insane streak still intact. The Dallas Stars would go on to win the game 2-1, eliminating the defending Stanley Cup champions and advancing to take on the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2.
Pete DeBoer has now overseen a Game 7 victory in each of his first two seasons at the helm for the Stars. Last year it was a second-round victory over the Seattle Kraken before Dallas was defeated by the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals in six games.
The impressive 8-0 record in Game 7s has been compiled by DeBoer with four different teams. He was coach of the Vegas Knights for their two Game 7 victories in franchise history, and was on the opposite side of their two losses; last night and in 2019 with the San Jose Sharks.
The fourth team that Pete DeBoer has been on the bench for in Game 7 victories was the New Jersey Devils. Alas, he is still chasing that elusive Stanley Cup victory, as DeBoer is 8-0 in Game 7s but 0-2 in the finals. The Devils lost in 2012 to the Los Angeles Kings and the Sharks lost in 2016 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
There is only one other coach in NHL history to win at least eight Game 7s; Darryl Suter. He has a record of 8-3 in win-or-go-home games over 182 playoff games in 15 postseasons with four different franchises.
If any series in the remainder of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs go deep, the Dallas Stars have to feel good about their chances of picking up victories.
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