Stars Play Their Cards Right, Win in OT

The Dallas Stars avoided the nearly impossible to overcome 3-0 series deficit with a 3-2 victory in overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Among the many casinos on the Las Vegas Strip filled with a myriad of multi-colored flashing slot machines, the victory green of the Dallas Stars shined bright at T Mobile Arena last night with a 3-2 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Dallas Stars made their way to Sin City for Game 3 in the first round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, down 0-2 in the series after two home losses. It was essentially do or die, because just last season Dallas faced the same deficit and lost Game 3 to fall into an insurmountable 3-0 hole in the series. The Stars knew that they had to win the pivotal third game this year, but walking into Vegas' home barn was never going to be easy.

The stakes were high enough to fit right in at the VIP poker tables of all the neighboring casinos, but the Stars were betting on their road prowess this season. The last time the Stars beat the Golden Knights was in May 2023, but Dallas won the most road games in franchise history this year. Under head coach Pete DeBoer, the Stars had not lost three games in a row in regulation, and once again, this stat stayed intact.

The Stars were dealt a tough hand, with Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa unavailable for the game. Ty Dellandrea and Craig Smith drew in, and while AHL MVP Mavrik Borque was called up and took warmups, DeBoer went with the two players that had played plenty in the regular season.

The flop was kind to the Stars, as the first period showed an energized and strong Dallas push that led to a massive advantage in shots through the opening frame. It was clear the message was to come to play in the first period. But almost immediately, it was obvious that Logan Thompson was about to have a world class game to keep Vegas in it. He robbed Thomas Harley of the sure opening goal, as he tipped a puck that Thompson snagged in the glove as he was on the doorstep of what looked like an empty net. 

At the lucky 11:11 mark of the first, Stars fans' wishes came true when Wyatt Johnston had a between-the-legs beauty of a goal that finally broke the seal. The period ended with the Stars up 1-0, but it felt like Dallas could have had a bigger lead had Thompson not been playing out of his mind. The Stars outshot the Golden Knights 18-7 in the first twenty minutes.

At the turn, the Stars came out with the same dominating intensity and looked to maintain their advantage. Around the five minute mark, Evgenii Dadonov was able to sneak behind the Vegas defensemen. He quickly flipped the puck to Tyler Seguin rushing in, and a quick bump pass to a crashing Miro Heiskanen opened up Thompson, and Heiskanen found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. Suddenly Dallas has a lot of momentum and even more life.

Once Vegas started to feel the heat for the first time in the series, things started to get chippy. Dallas took the bait and William Carrier and Jamie Benn both went off for roughing, resulting in 4-on-4 hockey. Vegas took no time to score right off the faceoff as Brayden McNabb scored his second goal of the series past a partially screened Jake Oettinger. 

Vegas had played their cards right and stolen back some of the momentum. Shortly after, Tomas Hertl got called for a high stick against Heiskanen, and it felt like an opportunity for the Stars to get the momentum back. After a grade-A chance was denied by a locked-in Thompson, a defensive breakdown happened and Jack Eichel went the other way on a 2-on-1. Eichel briefly looked to pass the puck off, but decided to pick the corner against Oettinger and sniped home the game tying shorthanded goal. The rest of the period, the Stars looked like the wind had been taken out of their sails. 

In the third period, both teams tightened things up, knowing that the next goal was likely the game winning goal. Both teams weren't able to string offense together for most of the period, until the last five minutes when Vegas turned it up and made a push for the win. Oettinger looked the most dialed in since the series started, and made several key saves to keep the Stars alive. The third period shots on goal were 10-5 in favor of Vegas, but the game went to overtime tied 2-2.

In overtime, the river card was finally revealed, and all the cards were on the table. Dallas knew exactly what they needed to do, and knew that one bad bounce or lucky shot could all but wrap up the series for Vegas. The Stars came out blazing, creating chance after chance but Thompson would not budge for Vegas. Over 15 minutes went by and it seemed like it would take nothing short of a miracle to beat the Vegas goaltender.

The betting was over, and on the final reveal, Wyatt Johnston lifted a shot from in tight above Thompson, who had gone down early to protect the lower part of the net. Johnston put it in the perfect place and just as double overtime looked likely, the game was over and the Stars were right back in the series. A 3-2 victory won the hand for Dallas, and Vegas fans went home crushed, much like Dallas fans in the first two games.

After the crucial victory, the Stars now have a chance to level the series Monday and come back to Dallas with much more hope than they had when they left trailing two games to none.

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