Golden Knights squander opportunity to book Stanley Cup Final berth

The Vegas Golden Knights suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. Adin Hill made 39 saves, while Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson scored.

The Vegas Golden Knights failed to close out the series with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday.

Adin Hill made 39 saves. William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault scored.

Both have eight goals apiece, which is tied for a Vegas franchise record for goals in a single playoffs.

“Early on, [Dallas] was better than us. They won more puck battles. The faceoffs were heavily tilted toward them. We weren’t there, but we got there,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “In the third period, that was the one period where we outplayed them. Both goalies were good and made some saves. We had opportunities to extend the lead and take the lead again. Give [Dallas] credit, they did what they had to do. They were on us early on and we had some trouble with that.”

The Dallas Stars led only when it mattered when Joe Pavelski fired a slapshot from the left circle that beat Hill in overtime.

It wasn’t necessarily the best game by the Golden Knights as the Stars had numerous high-chances and played with a desperate energy.

“Our effort level wasn’t good enough,” Marchessault said. “Closing a series is the hardest game of the series. Not good enough for our group.”

While the Golden Knights lost, they can look at two things that go into their favor. They found their game in the third period with numerous chances of their own and tilted the ice in their favor. The second is they were still in a game despite not playing their best hockey for 40 minutes.

Closing out in Game 5 will be critical, however. If the Stars manage to pull of another victory in Las Vegas, then the momentum shifts and whispers of a potential comeback grow louder.

That said, however. Vegas is still in control of the series, needing to win one game in three tries. The last time Vegas suffered a four-game losing streak? The four games before the All-Star break.

“It was right there for us. Our third period was good, but the first two periods were a glimpse of good,” Marchessault said. “For our group, especially with the [Dallas Stars] missing [Evgenii Dadonov] and [Jamie Benn], our depth, that’s where it kicks in. Everybody has to step up. Tonight, we didn’t do that.”

It’s hard to deny Hill of this honor even in a losing effort. He was spectacular in net, keeping the Golden Knights in the game for most of the game.

“He’s awesome. He’s really calm and collected back there,” Vegas forward Reilly Smith said. “We could be more confident as our last line of defense. He’s done a great job. He’s a big reason why we’re here.”

The Golden Knights and Stars will meet for Game 5 at 5 p.m. at T-Mobile on Thursday.

Vegas is up 3-1 and will look to close out the series on home ice.

“Tomorrow is a new day, we wake up and get ready for Game 5,” Marchessault said.