Jonathan Marchessault kicked off three goals in less than six minutes as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Dallas Stars 4-0 on Tuesday, coming one step closer to advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The burst meant the exit for Jake Oettinger, beaten three times in five shots.
By this time, Stars captain Jamie Benn had already been ejected from the game, for a dangerous blow at the expense of Mark Stone.
“We’re upset when we see that, he’s our captain,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. But in the end, they made a decision that gave us a chance to make them pay the penalty. And we did it by scoring a goal, which allowed us to double our lead. […] Do things the right way. This has been our mindset from the start. »
“What goes unnoticed is Adin Hill’s save on a 2-on-1… And we score,” Cassidy also said. Those 15 seconds of hockey have a huge impact on the game. »
Oettinger had the shortest start of his career. Adin Hill meanwhile made 34 saves en route to his second shutout since the start of the playoffs.
The Knights have won their fifth straight game. In their last four matches, they had to catch up before winning.
The Western final could conclude Thursday night in Dallas.
The Golden Knights previously made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2018, their very first year in the NHL. The Washington Capitals had then triumphed in five games.
Vegas has missed the playoffs only once, and that was last year – a result that led to the firing of Peter DeBoer, who would go on to become the Stars’ coach.
Marchessault scored at 1:11, Ivan Barbashev at 5:57, on the power play, then William Carrier at 7:10.
Benn and Stone, both captains, collided near the blue line early in the game.
Stone went down and Benn landed a typical cross-checking blow, landing him near the neck. Benn was ejected 1:53 after the initial faceoff.
“Let’s tell it like it is. He made a mistake. He feels really bad about it. I don’t think anyone in the building feels worse than him about it, DeBoer said. I won’t overstate it, he’s been a leader here his entire career, and he’s a leader every day on and off the ice. […] Fortunately, Mark Stone is fine, and we have to live with the consequences. »
Barbashev was also an accomplice to Alex Pietrangelo’s goal in the middle period.
Scott Wedgewood blocked 10 shots in relief to Oettinger, who was defeated for the third straight time.
Evegenii Dadonov of the Stars suffered a lower body injury in the first period. He did not return to the match afterwards.
