Pete DeBoer has never lost a Game 7 as an NHL coach. Jared Bednar has never won one.

They will be on opposite benches when the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche play what seems like the only fitting end for their first-round series in this year’s NHL playoffs — a Game 7 tonight in Dallas.

“Honestly, Jared Bednar and I are not going to have a big impact on this game,” DeBoer said. “The players are going to decide that. Both teams know each other. It’s who goes out and executes and gets big games from the right guys.”

Still, there are a lot of different records that align heavily toward the Stars, who will be at home for a Game 7 for the third season in a row.

DeBoer is 8-0 in Game 7s with four different teams, including each of the past two postseasons since getting to Dallas and reaching the Western Conference Final both times. No other coach has won more Game 7s, with Darryl Sutter 8-3 in them.

Bednar is 0-3 in Game 7s, all with the Avalanche, who have lost six in a row since 2002. He is also 0-3 overall in playoff series against DeBoer, including a seven-game loss in the second round to San Jose in 2019.

The Stars are 3-0 against Colorado in Game 7s, and reached the Stanley Cup Final after each of those. The two teams went seven games in the Western Conference Final in both 1999 and 2000. Then in the second round of the pandemic-impacted 2020 playoffs inside the Canadian bubble, the deciding game was tied four times before then-Stars rookie and current Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta completed a hat trick with an overtime goal that gave Dallas a 5-4 win.

This will be the 199th time a Game 7 has happened in the NHL playoffs, and the first this season.

“Personally not surprised it’s going to Game 7,” said Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen, who has been traded twice since being with the Avs in the playoffs the past seven seasons, including their 2022 Stanley Cup title. “It’s two really good teams, and it’s good for the hockey world to see this series.”

Colorado avoided elimination with a 7-4 win in Game 6, getting some fortunate and fluky bounces at home Thursday night.

This is the fourth year in a row for Dallas to be in a Game 7, with Jake Oettinger in net for all of them. The 26-year-old goalie has a .956 save percentage (108 of 113) and 1.54 goals against average the previous three, with the only loss coming in a first-round series at top-seeded Calgary in 2022 when he had 64 saves before an overtime goal by the late Johnny Gaudreau.

Oilers get a boost from Pickard

Calvin Pickard, the lone goaltender with a 4-0 record, is among the surprises emerging from the first round of playoffs and Edmonton Oilers fans are likely grateful for it.

The 33-year-old Pickard stepped in for Stuart Skinner when the Oilers were down 2-0 in their series with the Kings. Edmonton won four straight to close out the series Thursday night at home.

“It means a lot,” Pickard said. “Coming in Game 3, you don’t want to chase results. You just want to go out and do your job.”

Next up is a second-round series against Vegas, which is coming off a six-game win over Minnesota. Edmonton and Vegas split their four regular-season meetings. They last met in the postseason in 2023 when the Knights eliminated the Oilers in six games in the second round on the way to winning the Stanley Cup.

“For the series against Vegas, there’s a team that plays quite a bit different style than L.A. with their systems and the type of personnel that they have,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “It’s going to give us a whole new challenge.”

The Oilers’ special teams, so crucial in last year’s run to the Cup Final, picked up against the Kings. Edmonton held the Kings to two goals on nine power-play chances and went 6-for-9 in the four victories. Getting some skaters back in the regular mix following injuries was key.

Rangers hire Sullivan as coach

The New York Rangers have hired Mike Sullivan as coach, days after he and the Pittsburgh Penguins agreed to part ways.

General manager Chris Drury announced the move Friday, bringing in the organization’s top candidate who was out of work for less than a full business week.

“Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” Drury said. “Mike brings a championship-level presence behind the bench.”