The Edmonton Oilers dispatched the Dallas Stars with a dominant 6-3 victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday, May 29, to return to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row.
Stars head coach Pete DeBoer has seen his team eliminated by the Oilers for the second season in a row. DeBoer is now 2-6 in conference finals throughout his career, with the last six appearances being losses, highlighting a troubling pattern for the veteran bench boss.
What Is Pete DeBoer’s Conference Finals Record?
With this latest defeat, Pete DeBoer has now been eliminated in playoff conference finals in six of the past seven seasons, and his team did not make the playoffs in the seventh.
Despite earning a reputation for guiding talented teams to deep playoff runs, first with the San Jose Sharks, then the Vegas Golden Knights, and now the Dallas Stars, DeBoer’s squads have repeatedly stumbled just short of the Stanley Cup Final.
The numbers paint a stark picture of DeBoer’s conference finals struggles. Since reaching the Stanley Cup Final with San Jose in 2016, DeBoer’s teams have fallen at the penultimate hurdle six times.
Pete DeBoer has now been eliminated in the Conference Finals in six of the past seven seasons. pic.twitter.com/qBpJGNWVpU
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) May 30, 2025
His overall conference finals record of 2-6 includes losses with three different franchises, raising questions about whether this is merely bad luck or a deeper issue with his playoff approach.
DeBoer led the 2012 New Jersey Devils and 2016 San Jose Sharks to the Stanley Cup Finals during his first season in charge of both franchises, but has failed to match the record ever since. Thursday’s loss to Edmonton marks the third consecutive season Dallas has fallen in the Conference Finals, and the second straight year they’ve been ousted by the Oilers.
Why Did the Stars Fall Short Against Edmonton?
The Oilers took an early lead during the crucial Game 5 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. They blitzed the Stars with three goals in the first 8:07 of the game. In a controversial move, DeBoer pulled starting goaltender Jake Oettinger after he had let in two goals on the opening two shots.
“I didn’t take that lightly and I didn’t blame it all on Jake,” DeBoer said via the New York Post. “But the reality is, if you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton, and we gave up two goals on two shots in an elimination game. So it was partly to spark our team and partly knowing that the status quo had not been working. That’s a pretty big sample size.”
The decision to pull Oettinger, who posted a stellar .915 save percentage during the regular season, shocked many observers. The 26-year-old netminder had been Dallas’ backbone throughout their playoff run, but his struggles against Edmonton specifically seemed to weigh heavily on DeBoer’s mind. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood came in relief but couldn’t stem the tide, allowing four goals on 23 shots.
The Stars’ coach’s gambit failed to pay dividends as, despite clawing back to 3-2 on the night, the Stars’ lack of offensive punch led to their loss and elimination. Their forward line’s production has been almost nonexistent in the current series, with team top-scorer Mikko Rantanen only managing one goal in his previous 10 playoff games. Attackers Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene, and captain Jamie Benn also scored only one goal between them in the series against the Oilers.
The offensive drought became particularly glaring when compared to Edmonton’s firepower. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for 17 points in the five-game series, while Dallas’ top six forwards managed just 12 points total. This disparity in star power proved insurmountable for a Stars team that had relied on balanced scoring and strong goaltending throughout the regular season.
“We just didn’t get it done here. It [stinks]. I mean, three years in a row now [losing in the conference final]. You get that close and you come up short. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. Obviously, not a good feeling,” Benn told reporters after the game via NHL.com.
For DeBoer, the loss adds another chapter to what’s becoming an uncomfortable narrative. While his ability to consistently guide teams to conference finals speaks to his coaching acumen, the inability to break through raises questions about adjustments and preparation at the highest level.
The Stars now face an offseason of soul-searching, wondering if their current core, combined with DeBoer’s systems, can finally break through the conference finals ceiling that has proven so elusive.
