Golden Knights look to experience in lead up to Game 5

Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez knows what it’s like to be a part of a team trying to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

He was a part of the last team to do so: the 2014 Los Angeles Kings.

But Martinez and the Vegas Golden Knights will be relying on another kind of experience as they enter Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars.

"I would probably rely on the experience that I've been in before, being up 3-0 and not closing a team out in that Game 4," Martinez said. "The fourth one is the hardest to get, and they're a really good team. They played a really good hockey game, and they made it extremely difficult for us to win that game. That said, we were one shot away, but in terms of experience, I think I would just rely on experience in general rather than having been on the other side of that."

The Golden Knights still own a commanding 3-1 lead and won’t be pushing the panic button anytime soon. That’s not to say that the Golden Knights are approaching this game without an edge.

"There is urgency every night, and it's not like we went into last night's game not wanting to win," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We had two opportunities early to finish series and we did both. Last night, we lost a game in overtime, where I thought there was some good hockey, pockets of good and pockets where they were better than us. I think we were better than them at times."

Throughout the season, Vegas has remained steady in their approach to games and series. They stick to trying to play the game in their fashion and staying in moment rather than getting too far ahead of themselves.

"In terms of an approach to the game, it's finding that balance between knowing what's at stake and also approaching it as another playoff game," Martinez said. "You're better off focusing on the process, knowing that if you play a good game, you play a good 60, you stick to your game, the end result will take care of itself."

In Game 4, it took Vegas a little bit of time to get to its game. The Golden Knights had a lead twice in the game but were unable to hold off Stars forward Jason Robertson from getting a pair and Joe Pavelski scoring in overtime to keep the Stars’ Stanley Cup Finals hopes alive.

Cassidy said the team will need to find its footing earlier if they want to advance to the franchise’s second Stanley Cup Final appearance.

“Now you go to [Saturday], we’ll have the mindset where we want to finish it off again,” Cassidy said. “Just need to do the little things right to do it and be on time with it.”