Why the Stars will eliminate the Oilers in the Western Conference Final

The Western Conference Final between the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers begins Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Stars eliminated the Colorado Avalanche in six games in the second round after ousting the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round.

The Oilers eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games in the second round after beating the Los Angeles Kings in five games in the first round.

Let's break down why the Stars will defeat the Oilers in this series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

1. Better defensively 

Edmonton has improved itself defensively over the years but that part of its game is not nearly as effective as Dallas' defensive play. The Stars strike an almost perfect balance between limiting their opponents' chances and creating offense.

2. Offensive depth

The Oilers are more than the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl show, but they still get very little offense outside of that pair, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane and defenseman Evan Bouchard. 

Meanwhile, the Stars have four dangerous lines — eight players with at least 20 goals during the regular season and Wyatt Johnston, who leads them with seven playoff goals, is a third liner. Dallas also has two defensemen with offensive ability in Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley.

3. Goaltending 

Dallas' Jake Oettinger has provided elite play in goal for long stretches during his relatively short — four seasons — NHL career. He is simply a better goaltender than Edmonton's Stuart Skinner, who had to be replaced for Games 4 and 5 against Vancouver after struggling in the first three games. And when he returned, Skinner only had to make a combined 29 saves in winning Games 6 and 7.