Pete DeBoer came alive at the characterization of his Dallas Stars as “lifeless.”
After squandering a chance to maintain home-ice advantage and losing a pivotal Game 5 of the Western Conference Final to the Oilers, the Stars are on the brink of elimination.
DeBoer, who is in his second season as head coach, snapped at a reporter’s question in Friday’s postgame news conference when he heard the Stars’ second-period effort described as “lifeless” by Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News.
“You can sit here and question our character if you want,” DeBoer said. “You haven’t been around all year. I haven’t seen you here all year. You are, that’s what you’re doing. I’m not going to do it. You go ahead and write what the f— you want.”
The Oilers led 1-0 after the first period but added two more goals in the second to put the game out of reach, while the Stars were held to just 10 shots over the first 40 minutes.
DeBoer’s explanation? The Oilers played a “perfect road game.”
“If you’re going to draw a road game, that’s pretty much what you want to do, right?” DeBoer said. “They want to come out, get two power-play goals early in the game, get the lead and then defend well all night. So it’s tough to crack through.”
DeBoer, 55, has been close to winning the Stanley Cup without breaking through before. He coached the 2011-12 Devils and the 2015-16 Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final, but both teams fell short.
Adding salt to the wound, DeBoer was fired by the Golden Knights in May 2022 (and quickly hired by the Stars) – only to see Vegas win their first Cup last season after his departure.
The Stars had a 2-1 series edge over the Oilers before losing the last two games.
The Oilers can eliminate the Stars by winning Game 6 at home on Sunday.
