10:30 p.m. Tuesday: Stars’ reaction
The Vegas Golden Knights took a 3-0 series lead with a 4-0 win over the Stars in Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference finals, despite being outshot 34-16.
Vegas quickly quieted a raucous Dallas crowd, controlling the puck deep in the Dallas zone as Jack Eichel found Jonathan Marchessault on a cross-ice pass in front of a sprawling Jake Oettinger for the game’s first goal less than two minutes into the game.
Dallas had a chance to tie it just 10 seconds later when captain Jamie Benn nearly shoved the puck under Vegas goalie Adin Hill’s leg pads, but Hill fell backward onto the puck before it could cross the goal line.
Benn was later called for a five-minute game misconduct for cross-checking Vegas’ Mark Stone, disqualifying him from the game and giving the Golden Knights an extended power-play opportunity. Ivan Barbashev helped Vegas capitalize, burying a pass from Nick Roy past Oettinger’s glove to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.
“He made a mistake,” Dallas Coach Pete DeBoer said of his captain as he met with the media after the game. “No one feels worse about it than he does.
“Thankfully, Mark Stone is OK. We will live with the consequences, whatever they are. We lived with them tonight, and we’ll live with them going forward if there’s any supplemental discipline.”
Dallas also had to continue without Evgenii Dadonov, who was injured in the first period and did not return.
William Carrier made it a 3-0 game by floating a backhand over Oettinger’s shoulder later in the period, which chased the goalie from the game after allowing three goals on the first five shots he faced.
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo added another Vegas goal in the second period, which ended prematurely after fans began to throw items onto the ice in disagreement over three penalties called on Max Domi during an altercation between the players on the ice.
The Western Conference finals continue at the American Airlines Center with Game 4 at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday as Dallas looks to avoid a sweep.
“I got a lot of belief in our group,” DeBoer added. “We didn’t quit. I don’t think we’re going to be an easy out, so we’re going to be here ready to play on Thursday.”
9:45 p.m. Tuesday: Final score
The Vegas Golden Knights took a 3-0 series lead Tuesday night after a 4-0 victory over the Dallas Stars in their Western Conference playoff series.
Vegas scored three goals in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Stars captain Jamie Benn was ejected two minutes into the game for a hit on the Golden Knights’ Mark Stone.
4 p.m. Tuesday: Preview
The Dallas Stars return to the American Airlines Center for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, trailing the series, 2-0.
Both games have gone into overtime but ended less than two minutes into the extra period.
Dallas led Sunday’s Game 2 late, but Vegas’ Jonathan Marchessault tied it with 2:22 remaining, and Chandler Stephenson ended it 1:12 into the overtime.
“Yesterday, I didn’t think we were on top of our game,” Vegas Coach Bruce Cassidy said as he met with the media on Monday.
“The difference between yesterday and the losses we had earlier in series against the other opponents is we were able to stick around for whatever reason. I think we recognized we weren’t at our best, so let’s not let it get too far away until we can get o our game — if we can get to our game.”
Despite the two-game deficit, the Stars were encouraged by their efforts in Sunday’s loss and saw improvements as the series comes to Dallas.
“You’re down, but there’s a lot of hockey left to be played,” Head Coach Pete DeBoer told the media on Tuesday. “Obviously, you don’t want to dig that hole deeper than it is, but they found a way to win their two home games. We pushed them both to overtime, which gave us a chance to win either of them. We’ve got to do the same thing at home here.”
“We didn’t like our Game 1 at all,” DeBoer continued. “We responded in Game 2 with a real good game. Considering that situation — going deep into the third period like that with the lead — we’re winning that game most of the time, so that’s something we’ve got to build off. ”
“We’re going home, and we’ve got to use that game as our template and add our home crowd to the mix here and get back in the series.”
Dallas is 5-2 at home this postseason with three consecutive home wins, including a series-clinching win in Game 7 against Seattle last week.
“They’ve got a really good home record,” Cassidy acknowledged. “Obviously, you’re upset when you come that close, and you don’t win, so they’re going to have a real sense of urgency going back there. So for us, it’s one game at a time, and get to our game in a hurry.”
Game 3 begins at 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday in Dallas.