Stars will win Stanley Cup led by veteran core, Robertson, Oettinger

The Dallas Stars are familiar with this road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the difficulty of getting to the Stanley Cup Final.

They advanced to the Final two seasons ago despite a constantly changing lineup because of injuries before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
Several players are still with the team, including forwards Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, and defensemen John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen.
Leaning on that core, the Stars will get to the Final again, and this time they will win the Stanley Cup.
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Let's start with Pavelski. The 37-year-old center moved to right wing and had his most productive season in the NHL, leading the Stars with an NHL career-high 81 points (27 goals, 54 assists). His previous career best was 79 points (41 goals, 38 assists) for the San Jose Sharks in 2013-14. He's been good in the postseason with 119 points (61 goals, 58 assists) in 161 NHL playoff games.
Pavelski, a former captain with the Sharks, still brings that leadership and his on-ice work is a motivator for the Stars. As Benn said earlier this season, Pavelski, "just knows the game so well, knows where to go, what to do and makes the right plays all the time."
There's been no second-season slump for forward Jason Robertson. It's quite the opposite for the left wing, who plays with Pavelski and center Roope Hintz on a dominant top line.
Robertson, a finalist last season for the Calder Trophy voted annually to the NHL rookie of the year as selected in a poll by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, was second on the Stars with 79 points (41 goals, 38 assists). The 22-year-old is confident and steady, never going more than three games without scoring a point this season.

Then there's Hintz, who also elevated his game with an NHL career-high 72 points (37 goals, 35 assists). The 25-year-old brings it on both sides of the puck with tremendous speed and defensive prowess.
Heiskanen fought through mononucleosis in March but still finished with a career-best 36 points (five goals, 31 assists) this season in 70 games. Klingberg, who can be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, had 47 points (six goals, 41 assists) and his 20 power-play points were fourth on the team.
Jake Oettinger, a 23-year-old goalie, went 30-15-1 with a 2.53 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and one shutout in 48 games (46 starts). He became the first goalie in the NHL expansion era to debut in the round leading into the Final when he played the third period in a 3-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final on Sept. 8, 2020. Oettinger will play a bigger role this postseason and has the poise to handle it.
A great blend of young talent and productive veterans who have gone through the playoff grind before, the Stars have the right pieces to get to the Stanley Cup Final and win it all.