After losing the first two games of their Western Conference first-round series at home to the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, the Dallas Stars looked primed for an early exit from the playoffs.
But Peter DeBoer’s squad heads back home on Wednesday for Game 5 with the series tied 2-2 after grinding out a pair of wins in Las Vegas.
The Stars won Game 3 in overtime, 3-2, on a goal by Wyatt Johnston, then came back on Monday to notch a 4-2 victory behind 32 saves by Jake Oettinger.
“It’s not surprising to anyone in this room,” Oettinger said. “We felt good about our game in Dallas. It just didn’t go the way we wanted to. Series go a million different ways. It’s not always how you draw it up.
“Teams have come back from down 3-0, 3-1. It’s not over unless you give up. No one in here is giving up.”
Two of the final three games are set to be played in Dallas, including Game 7 if needed. That might not be a good thing for the Stars. The road team has won all four of the games in the series so far.
“Right now, it’s a best-of-three series,” Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “We’ve got to go to Dallas and bring a good road game.”
The Golden Knights are turning to goaltender Adin Hill to start on Wednesday.
Logan Thompson started the first four games, splitting the decisions while recording a 2.35 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. He yielded three goals on 46 shots on Saturday and three more on 31 shots on Monday.
“I thought Logan has played well, put us in a good spot. It’s 2-2, done his job,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Adin has been through this, so that’s a little bit that goes into the decision. There’s an experienced guy that’s come into this situation before, so that’s essentially the thought process.”
Hill, 27, famously stepped up in place of the injured Laurent Brossoit in Game 3 of the second-round series versus the Edmonton Oilers last season. He posted an 11-4 record with a 2.17 GAA and .932 save percentage, pacing the Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup in the franchise’s short history.
The Stars rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in Monday’s win. Ty Dellandrea, stationed by the far-left post, scored what proved to be the game-winner late in the second period when Craig Smith whipped a shot into the crease that hit Dellandrea in the chest and bounced into the net.
“We can get out of the period 2-2, but we stayed too long in the shift,” Cassidy said. “Then, we mismanaged the puck. It’s a fortunate play, but they’re putting everything to the net. You’re going to get some of those bounces.”
Roope Hintz sealed the win with an empty-netter in the third.
“It’s huge,” Smith said of bouncing back to win two road games on the ice of the defending Stanley Cup champions. “It’s playoff hockey and anything can happen. It’s two good teams out there and there’s not a lot of room out there. It can go either way. It’s nice to get the two here.”
Dallas captain Jamie Benn was proud of how his team managed to stay calm, even in the face of a 2-0 series deficit.
“This was big for our group,” Benn said. “There was no panic in our game. We knew they were going to come out hard, they’re a good team. But we weathered the storm and found a way to win.”
Vegas won the first two games of the series by 4-3 and 3-1 scores in Dallas and has enjoyed success at American Airlines Center. The Golden Knights clinched last year’s Western Conference finals in Dallas with a 6-0 victory in Game 6 en route to winning their first Stanley Cup in team history.
It’s a new season, but the Golden Knights are hoping for an identical end result.
“So here we are, tied 2-2,” Cassidy said. “So, we have to be the team that makes the right plays in the next game like we did up there on the last trip.”
–Field Level Media
