The Vegas Golden Knights won a tight contest at the American Airlines Center Wednesday night, beating Dallas 3-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Vegas Golden Knights won a tight contest at the American Airlines Center Wednesday night, beating Dallas 3-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Vegas proved to be too much for Dallas Wednesday, and after dropping Game 2 in a tight 3-1 game, the Stars find themselves behind the eight ball down 2-0 in the first round series.
Even with a strong first period push, the Stars could not beat Vegas for the first time this season, dropping both home games as the top seed in the Western Conference. Now, they head to Vegas with the near impossible task of trying to level the series on the road.
The Stars came out with a vengeance to start the game. Applying offensive pressure immediately, Dallas was able to put a few shots on Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson and get in a rhythm. But the real jolt of energy into the game came from their early physicality, including a hit from Mason Marchment that laid out an unsuspecting Zach Whitecloud behind the net.
The Golden Knights weren't able to get their first shot on goal until five minutes in, but seemed to settle in after that. The shot total remained low throughout the first period, and really stayed that way through the rest of the game.
Through the middle part of the first frame, both teams had trouble generating much offense until a tripping call on Nicholas Roy created the first power play of the game. About 20 seconds in, Jason Robertson let a wrist shot go from the dot, finding the net behind a screened Thompson. Dallas had their first lead of the series, and scored the all-important first goal of the game.
A major issue through two games for Dallas has been allowing Vegas to counter any momentum with a killer goal of their own. The lead was short lived when just over a minute and a half later, Jack Eichel got behind defensemen Ryan Suter and Thomas Harley at the offensive blue line, walked in and dished it under back-pressure to an open Jonathan Marchessault who made no mistake and tied the game 1-1.
The period ended with Miro Heiskanen taking a hooking penalty from Chandler Stephenson, but referee Chris Rooney called the Stars defenseman for embellishment to even things up and play 4-on-4.
Both teams were more disorganized through the second, only recording three shots combined through half the period. Finally, the Stars started to apply some offensive pressure and then things got chippy. A post-whistle scrum near the net led to more 4-on-4 hockey when Ryan Suter threw down Anthony Mantha, and the two exchanged words all the way to the penalty box.
With more room to generate offense, the Stars found themselves scrambling in their own zone, but Jake Oettinger made two incredible back-to-back saves from his side, keeping the game tied.
The 4-on-4 action continued when Wyatt Johnston went the other way and deked in with a backhand shot, but Thompson was just able to stretch across and make a toe save. It felt like the Stars had gotten several chances to retake the lead, but the game remained tied.
With a little over a minute left in the second, the Stars were scrambling again in their own end. Esa Lindell blocked a Nicolas Roy shot attempt with his skate blade, but the puck bounced right to Noah Hanifin, who took a quick shot that beat Oettinger glove side and gave Vegas their first lead of the game. Oettinger was deep in his net expecting a shot from in tight, and that allowed just enough room for the shot to sneak through before he could react fast enough.
Going into the third period trailing for the second game in a row, Dallas knew that they needed to make a push for the tying goal in an attempt to even up the series and win one of two games at home. Credit to Vegas, as the Knights frustrated the Stars up and down the ice from the third period puck drop to the final whistle. Dallas pushed and pushed, getting offensive zone time but not many shots on Thompson. The Stars finished with a mere five shots on goal for the whole third period, while Vegas still got 10 shots on Oettinger. The Knights didn't seem afraid to send four players deep into the offensive zone, because Dallas wasn't able to counter with many odd-man rushes all night.
As time dwindled, the desperation factor was palpable in the arena, and the crowd reacted breathlessly as Dallas tried chance after chance, many of them blocked by bodies or sticks before they even got to the goaltender. With less than two minutes remaining, the Stars pulled Oettinger for the extra attacker, but couldn't get a good look before Vegas buried an empty net goal to seal the 3-1 win.
Looking ahead, the Stars have two days of rest before Saturday's Game 3 in Vegas, and then Game 4 on Monday. While the series is by no means over, Dallas is down 2-0 and heading into one of the toughest road environments in the NHL. Vegas has shown that with a fully healthy lineup (that in the regular season would far exceed the salary cap), they are just as dangerous as last postseason when the Knights won the Stanley Cup.
Dallas will have to overcome the mental and physical hurdles of a punishing series while trying to claw back to level terms with two road wins. Marchment and Radek Faksa both went out with injury and were absent for much of the third period of Game 2, and head coach Pete DeBoer offered little in terms of an update after the game.
Vegas has now won 9 of the last 11 games against Dallas, and players will need to find an extra gear to compete with a team with that kind of confidence headed into their own building. But series are seven games for a reason, and the Stars just have to focus on winning the next game at hand, because falling down by three games almost certainly guarantees a series loss. Until Vegas wins four games, though, the Stars are still alive.
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