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Golden Knights falter in 4-2 loss to Stars, fail to close out series in Game 5

Posted on by Jillian Wagner

The Vegas Golden Knights squandered another opportunity to wrap up the Western Conference Final and instead suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars in Game 5 Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

It was a 2-2 game at the midway point of the third period, but Ty Dellandrea – a healthy scratch in the first two games of this series – scored two goals in under 90 seconds to give Dallas its first multi-goal lead of the series and ultimately the victory.

Adin Hill had another spectacular performance and made several sensational saves, but the Stars’ pressure proved to be too much, and the Golden Knights couldn’t solve Jake Oettinger, who stopped 27 of 29 for a .931 save percentage.

After taking a 3-0 series lead, the Golden Knights have dropped two in a row and now lead 3-2 heading into a critical Game 6 on the road. Stars captain Jamie Benn will be eligible to return to the lineup as Dallas fights to force a Game 7.

First period

Both teams traded chances early, though most of Vegas’ looks came on an early power play, the only power play of the game. It didn’t convert, but it was the Golden Knights’ best-looking power play of the series. However, Oettinger thwarted Vegas’ efforts to keep the home team off the board early.

The Golden Knights recorded the first six shots of the game; after that, Dallas led 13-4.

Hill was great throughout the frame, including on an early save on Roope Hintz, who was all alone in front with plenty of net to shoot at.

For the third game in a row, it was the Golden Knights who opened the scoring.

Jack Eichel created something out of nothing, as his impressive individual effort against two Stars along the boards kept the play alive; Ivan Barbashev came in, grabbed the puck and made an excellent move to get around Oettinger and give Vegas the 1-0 lead.

However, a dangerous shift by the Stars’ fourth line came up with a response 1:48 later. There was a mad scramble in front, and Hill was out of his net as a Dallas rebound went wide. The Golden Knights failed to get the clear, and Luke Glendening tipped a Thomas Harley point shot to even things up at 15:24.

The rest of the period was the Adin Hill show.

The ice was completely tilted in Dallas’ favor, and the Stars were generating multiple high-danger chances per shift. Somehow, Hill kept the puck out of the net.

It wasn’t always pretty, but he got the job done, including on an intense scramble where he was on his back in the crease, rolled over, grabbed the puck with his blocker glove and waved it in the air for the referee to blow the whistle.

He finished the frame with 12 saves on 13 shots, but following Barbashev’s tally, it was all Dallas. The Stars led 31-11 in shot attempts at 5-on-5, had seven high-danger chances (though it felt more like 20) and came close to taking a lead on multiple occasions; Vegas was fortunate to hear the buzzer announcing the end of the first period.

Second period

Though Dallas had a few chances early, the Golden Knights were able to strike first.

Shea Theodore found Chandler Stephenson coming off the bench, and Stephenson fired a top-shelf laser from the high slot to beat Oettinger and give Vegas a 2-1 lead just 3:20 into the period.

Once again, however, Dallas answered quickly.

Jason Robertson found a loose puck and flipped it over Hill to make it a 2-2 game just 2:09 later; it was Robertson’s fifth goal of the series.

Eichel came close to getting his first of the series as the Golden Knights pushed back, but Max Domi made a great play to clear the puck from the crease.

There was back-and-forth action in a much more balanced frame. Aside from a few blatant turnovers, the Golden Knights looked better in the second. They won more battles and had more extended shifts in the offensive zone, which took some bite out of the Dallas forecheck. They weren’t able to generate much on those shifts, but they limited the Stars’ premium chances more effectively in a better overall effort.

It didn’t amount to anything, however.

The Golden Knights had more blocked shots (20) than shots (19) through two periods, and the two clubs entered a critical third period tied 2-2.

Third period

The third period was there for the taking, but Dallas came out on top.

Both teams traded chances early, with Hill and Oettinger making key saves for their respective clubs, though one save was not quite like the other.

Hill came up with a remarkable stop, diving across the crease to rob Joel Kiviranta in front of a wide-open net.

Eventually, however, Dallas broke through.

After forcing Hill to make multiple highlight-reel saves, the Stars converted on a relatively harmless-looking shot that beat Hill short-side. Dellandrea’s shot deflected off Alex Pietrangelo’s stick check and went under Hill’s glove to give Dallas its first lead of the game with 9:25 left.

Dellandrea scored his second of the game just 1:27 later to give Dallas a 4-2 lead. Domi bumped into Hill on the play, but Nicolas Hague was the reason for the contact.

The Golden Knights pulled Hill with more than three minutes in the third, but Vegas was unable to cut the deficit. Oettinger shut down Vegas’ one real scoring chance to help the Stars close out the win and force a Game 6.

For the second game in a row, the Golden Knights were outplayed.

For the second game in a row, the Dallas Stars seemed to want it more.

Hill was fantastic, and his play was the only reason Vegas was even in contention near the end.

He repeatedly robbed the Stars on grade-A chances, and he covered up mistakes, blown coverages and other blips by his teammates throughout the contest.

The Golden Knights were bleeding chances in the first period, and while Vegas’ defensive coverage improved somewhat throughout the game, the Stars continued to force Hill to make ten-bell saves.

Hill stood on his head.

It’s possible Hill could have taken a better angle or been more aggressive in challenging the shot on the game-winner, which did change direction, but he is not the reason the Golden Knights lost this game.

Not at all.

“He played well, gave us a chance to win, made a huge save early in the third to keep it at 2-2,” Mark Stone said. “He’s given us a chance to win every night.”

Alec Martinez also praised Hill’s play.

“He was awesome,” he said. “He’s been awesome ever since he’s been in there. He’s kept us in games, even last game in Dallas, he gave us an opportunity to win. He did the same tonight. He’s been one of our best players, if not the best.”

But the Golden Knights, as a team, didn’t play well enough or hard enough for 60 minutes to win this game, thus wasting another stellar showing by their netminder.

“I think our second period was pretty strong. But this time of year, you’ve got to play a full 60 if you want to win a hockey game and if you want to close out a series,” Martinez said.

For the second game in a row, this was not the Golden Knights team that confidently finished off the Jets and Oilers in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Stars deserve credit for the changes they made and for their performance, but the Golden Knights were, in many ways, beaten at their own game.

Dallas was aggressive on the forecheck. Dallas kept Vegas to the perimeter. Dallas responded quickly to both of Vegas’ tallies. Dallas got multiple goals from its depth players. Dallas played with swagger.

Plus, the Golden Knights finished the game with a staggering 24 giveaways.

“I’m not sure you’re beating the Arizona Coyotes in January with 24 giveaways, no disrespect to Arizona,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But it’s not the right way to play. … We’re trying to go to the Stanley Cup Final against a desperate team, so to me, that’s the whole game. That falls under urgency.”

Despite all of that, the game was tied for most of the night. But Vegas lacked a killer instinct in the third period and let another golden opportunity slip away. The Golden Knights had a chance to finish off the Stars, make a statement and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

That did not happen.

With the goalie pulled, the Golden Knights’ play was surprisingly casual.

There were way too many passes, and the Golden Knights aimlessly threw the puck around the zone without directing shots towards the net. They didn’t get a real scoring opportunity until Stone tried to deflect an Eichel feed past Oettinger from just outside the blue paint; Oettinger shut down the bid with 2:02 remaining.

Technically, the Stars won this game in a two-minute span in the third period.

“We took ourselves out of it there,” Cassidy said. “Credit to [the Stars] for how they created some of their offense tonight and caused some problems for us. At the end of the day, they scored goals in the third and we didn’t.”

The Golden Knights didn’t execute. They were outscored, outchanced and outskated, and while they’ve capitalized on bounces or created their own to close out tight games in the past, tonight was not one of those nights.

That doesn’t mean that this series is over.

“I don’t think we’ve brought our best for the last two games, but we’ve still been in a good spot to win the game,” Stone said. “Definitely gotta bring a little bit better effort, start playing a little more desperate with a chance to wrap it up.”

The Stars have battled back to make this a series, and Dallas has the momentum going into Monday’s Game 6. With Benn returning and the Stars playing in front of the home crowd, the pressure is on Vegas now.

As they’ve done all year, the Golden Knights will have to respond.

Talking Points