The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Wednesday, and as a result they have stolen home ice ahead of the series shifting to T-Mobile Arena for Games 3 and 4. The defending Stanley Cup champions played clinical hockey, especially in the 3rd period, and they did not allow Dallas to register a shot on goal during the final 5:38 of the game. Dallas was limited to just one goal, a power-play tally by Jason Robertson in the 1st period, but it was all Vegas the remainder of the way.
Jonathan Marchessault scored off a brilliant feed from Jack Eichel toward the end of the 1st period, and Vegas entered the intermission with the score tied 1-1.
Play remained tied for most of the 2nd period, and Vegas pulled ahead with a goal by Noah Hanifin which came together after a bit of a broken sequence in front of the net after Dallas was unable to clear the puck off a rebound.
The Golden Knights took the lead to the locker room, and Eichel buried an empty-net goal with 34 seconds remaining to secure a 3-1 victory. As mentioned earlier, Dallas scored in the 1st period, and they got their lone goal in a period where they tallied 11 shots on goal.
Vegas limited Dallas to 5 shots in the 2nd period, 5 shots in the 3rd period, and 0 shots overall during the last 5:38 of the game. It was a game in which both sides had just one power play opportunity, and Vegas went 0-1 to Dallas’ 1-1.
It is very impressive how Vegas took care of business during the game, and Dallas deserves some credit for how they defended for the most part. Jake Oettinger was caught off guard on what would stand as the game-winning goal, and that sometimes is just how things go.
The Stars have a tough road ahead, and the math isn’t on their side for making a comeback.
The Golden Knights are now 5-0 on the season vs. Dallas, and both sides will meet again for Game 3 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in what is a do-or-die game for the Stars in which the Golden Knights will look to take a true stranglehold on the series.