Photo Credit : AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
The Dallas Stars have finally taken a lead in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at American Airlines Center; the first victory on home ice for either team. The Stars now lead the series three games to two and have a chance to close out the series in Game Six, set for Friday.
The Knights struck first on the night, with Mark Stone landing a goal on an early power play in the first period. 3:51 into the game, Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen was sent to the penalty box for holding Vegas’ Tomas Hertl. It was the first of many questionable and controversial penalties to come. Ten seconds into the Vegas power play, Knights center Chandler Stephenson won a faceoff to Stars goalie Jake Oettinger’s right and sent the puck to Jack Eichel along the boards. Eichel skated the puck deep into the Dallas zone, all the way to the goal line, before sending it to Noah Hanifin at the blue line. Hanifin took a shot that soared toward the net and was deflected by Stone past the left side of Oettinger.
But it wouldn’t take long for Dallas to land the equalizer. Heiskanen took control of the puck just inside the Dallas zone, sending it into neutral ice to Wyatt Johnston. Johnston passed the puck ahead to Logan Stankoven, who was advancing into the Knights zone. Stankoven skated the puck into the zone along the boards to Knights goalie Adin Hill’s right with Evgeny Dadonov speeding through the center of the zone with him.
As Stankoven reached the center of the faceoff circle to Hill’s right, Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb sprawled to the ice in an attempt to block a shot from Stankoven, who instead passed the puck around the feet of McNabb to Dadonov. As soon as the puck made contact with Dadonov’s stick, he flung the puck forward and into net behind Hill, who had overcommitted to Stankoven’s approach. The tying goal came just one minute and two seconds after the night’s first.
A minute and a half later, Dallas headed to the power play when Vegas’ William Carrier was sent to the box for tripping Dallas’ Sam Steel. With 29 seconds remaining in the power play, the Stars took their first lead of the night.
Johnston took control of the puck deep in the Vegas zone before passing it along the boards to Tyler Seguin, who passed it to defenseman Thomas Harley at the blue line. Harley sent the puck back to Seguin, who sailed it to Johnston, posted up dead center in front of the net. Johnston tipped the puck backhanded toward the net, but it didn’t have much momentum and fell in between the feet of Vegas’ Christoffer Sedoff. Matt Duchene pounced on the open puck and slid it through the legs of Hill, putting the Stars ahead 2-1.
The Stars went on yet another penalty less than a minute later when Dallas’ Joe Pavelski was sent to the penalty box for goaltender interference against Hill; though upon replay, it seemed clear Pavelski was pushed into Hill and didn’t contact the goalie on his own at all. The Stars killed off the Vegas advantage and would do so for the rest of the night.
With 7:29 remaining in the period, the Knights pulled the score even again. Carrier took control of the puck in the neutral zone and skated it all the way across the Dallas goal line with Stars defenseman Esa Lindell battling him for the puck along the boards. Carrier took the puck around the back of the Dallas net and coming to a complete stop and sending Lindell past him. With the slight gap in coverage, Carrier slipped ahead and to the net before sliding the puck under the left leg of Oettinger.
The first period came to a close with Vegas on the penalty kill for 1:18 after Stephenson was sent to the box for a faceoff violation, a penalty incurred because the referee deemed Stephenson’s hand closed over the puck while making a play during the faceoff. But the Knights held off the Stars and closed out the period tied at two.
Vegas killed off the remaining penalty time at the start of the second period, but it would only take eight minutes for either team to spend time in the penalty box again.
Eight minutes into the period, Seguin was sent to the box for an illegal check to the head on Vegas’ Shea Theodore. Initially, the infraction was deemed a major penalty, but was called back after review of the play, and wouldn’t be the only penalty reviewed for the night. Dallas held Vegas off yet again, and earned another power play opportunity three minutes later when Vegas captain Mark Stone was sent to the box for interference against Johnston, but the Knights held off the Stars also.
With 4:41 remaining on the clock, Vegas’ Alex Pietrangelo collided with Seguin in a battle for the puck along the boards to Hill’s left. After the collision, Pietrangelo turned around and sent a backhanded glove to Seguin’s face. Seguin fell to the ice, visibly shaken and bleeding, and headed down the Dallas tunnel. The final determination for Pietrangelo’s move was a two-minute minor for roughing.
But Dallas wouldn’t let the man advantage go to waste, and with 47 seconds remaining on the resulting power play, Jason Robertson scored the night’s winning goal. Robertson passed the puck to Heiskanen at the blue line and skated to the top of the faceoff circle to Hill’s left. He crept into the middle of the Vegas zone before launching a shot toward the goal that was blocked by McNabb. Robertson recovered the puck off the block and sent the puck toward the net again, this time sending it sailing past Hill and into the net, putting the Stars up 3-2.
And while the third period was without a goal or a penalty, it wasn’t without drama. Oettinger stopped all 15 of the shots he faced in the period; the most he faced of any period tonight. A flurry of those shots came after Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy pulled Hill from the net, putting the Knights on a 6-on-4 advantage in the final minute and a half of the game, but both Oettinger and the Dallas defense, held the Knights off to secure the victory.
Game Six will take place in Las Vegas on Friday night with the start time still yet to be determined.
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