The Vegas Golden Knights were outshot, outchanced, and outworked in Game 3’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars, and they almost emerged victorious due to some exceptional play between the pipes from Logan Thompson. Thompson stopped 43 of 46 in the loss, allowing just 3 goals to the 6.60 expected goals the Stars generated per Evolving-Hockey.com.
The Golden Knights generated just 1.55 expected goals, with one goal coming during a 4-on-4 sequence, and the other shorthanded while killing off a penalty.
In any case, the Stars played with desperation and urgency, and like a team that knew going down 3-0 would be a death sentence given how much depth and talent the Golden Knights boast on their roster.
If there’s anything to takeaway from the game, it is that Thompson is playing at an amazing locked in level right now, and it is unlikely that the Stars will dominate play as much as they did in Game 4 as they did on Saturday. It also is positive to see that Vegas was able to dig out of a hole to overcome a 2-goal deficit in a game that was primarily dominated by the Stars. Dallas finished atop the Western Conference for a reason, but expect Vegas to come out with some more fire and energy when these two teams square off again on Monday.
Dallas outshot Vegas 18-7 in the 1st period, 15-10 in the 2nd period, but were limited to 5 shots in the 3rd period while Vegas had 10 themselves. Dallas outshot Vegas 8-7 in OT, and 46-34 overall. It was a game that was played primarily at 5v5, with the Stars getting just 2 power play opportunities to Vegas’ 1. Monday’s Game 4 will result in either the Golden Knights taking a 3-1 stranglehold on the series or a 2-2 tie heading back to Dallas, and Vegas should be ready to rise to the challenge, and use their poor performance (Logan Thompson aside) to be ready to take care of business.