Vegas stole home-ice advantage following their Game 1 win. Now, it's up to the Stars to steal it back.
Vegas stole home-ice advantage following their Game 1 win. Now, it's up to the Stars to steal it back.
During the regular season, half of the Dallas Stars' 52 wins came after they fell behind.
Over the last five postseason series, they failed to win Game 1.
Playing from behind in a game or playoff series has become the norm for the Stars, and Monday night was no exception. The American Airlines Center crowd barely had time to settle in for the start of the game before the Golden Knights scored their first goal just over a minute into the first period. The second period started out the same way, with Vegas scoring their fourth and final goal less than two minutes in to snatch a 4-3 Game 1 win and put the Stars in an early hole.
"Not the ideal start," Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said. "That's for sure."
The Golden Knights had only 15 shots on goal for the game to Dallas's 30, but four of them got past Oettinger. Dallas had a huge advantage in shot attempts (68-48) and quality scoring chances (30-16). They also won 33 of the 60 faceoff attempts during the game.
But the scoreboard always has the final say, and it didn't take long for the Golden Knights to light it up.
Just 26 seconds into the contest, Dallas forward Sam Steel was called for high sticking. Vegas, who was just 1-for-10 on the power play in their three meetings against the Stars during the regular season, capitalized at the 1:23 mark when forward
Mark Stone tipped in a shot from the slot for a 1-0 lead. Stone, who missed the final 26 games of the regular season after being placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), was reinstated just before the playoffs began in a slick maneuver to work around the salary cap. The Vegas captain was subjected to boos by Dallas fans all night every time he touched the puck, no doubt in reference to the move.
Stars defenseman Ryan Suter tied the game 1-1 at the 7:17 mark, or so he thought. Vegas challenged that Mason Marchment had entered the zone with the puck and was offside. After further review, the goal was disallowed, and the score remained 1-0. It would have been Suter's first goal in 26 games.
"I thought it was close," Marchment said. "I thought I dragged my foot enough, but I really didn't get to see (the video)."
It turned out to be a big difference in the game's outcome. Seconds later, the defending Stanley Cup champions made it 2-0 on Jonathan Marchessault's one-timer from the low right slot off an Ivan Barbashev pass.
Jamie Benn got Dallas on the board at 16:07 of the period on a breakaway, putting a backhander through the pads of Knights' goalie Logan Thompson, who was making his NHL playoff debut. It was the 24th postseason goal in Benn's career.
Another penalty hurt the Stars when Marchment was called for hooking Shea Theodore at the 17:48 mark. Tomas Hertl, acquired by the Golden Knights at the trade deadline, tipped in a point shot past Oettinger for a 3-1 lead.
The wild first period finally ended on a good note for the Stars when Logan Stankoven sent a beautiful cross-ice to Jason Robertson, who made a wide open shot in the left slot to narrow the deficit to 3-2. It was the ninth career playoff goal for Robertson, and Stankoven notched the first point in his NHL playoff debut on the assist.
Dallas allowed another early-period goal in the first minute of the second when Brayden McNabb rocketed a shot from the left point past Oettinger, who was screened by a number of bodies around the net.
That was all the scoring until the 12-minute mark of the third period. Marchment made up for his offside call that wiped out Suter's first-period goal by floating a wrister past Thompson from above the left circle to cut the Vegas lead to 4-3.
It wasn't too late for a Dallas comeback. The club certainly had a lot of experience with rallying from a deficit, both in a game and a playoff series. Monday was not one of those occasions.
Despite a late flurry and pulling Oettinger for the sixth attacker, Thompson held firm for a 4-3 victory and a 1-0 lead for Vegas in the series.
The Stars have been here before. In the first two rounds of the 2022-23 postseason, they dropped Game 1 against the Minnesota Wild and Seattle Kraken, both at American Airlines Center. They fell to Vegas in the opener of the Western Conference Final, this time on the road.
Dallas has not won a playoff series opener since their Stanley Cup finals appearance in 2020 in the NHL bubble.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer knows better than anyone sluggish starts are a recipe for getting sent home.
"It's all about your response," DeBoer said. "If you're going to win this time of year, you've got to respond.
That opportunity will come in Game 2 Wednesday night, once again on home ice.
"We've been here before," Oettinger said. "It's not the end of the world."
Perhaps not, but another loss would put the Stars in a 2-0 hole. It happened in last season's Western Conference Final, and the Golden Knights went on to win the Stanley Cup while the Stars went home.
"I thought we were chasing (Monday's) game all night," DeBoer said. "We've got to make sure we fix that going forward."
Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
Third Time Around: Stars and Golden Knights Renew Playoff Rivalry with Plenty of History
Stars Seek Redemption: Breaking Down Round One
Stars to Face Vegas In First-Round Playoff Series: "It's Going to Be An Absolute War On the Ice
Stankoven, Bourque Named to AHL First All-Star Team
- undefined