Golden Knights Face Elimination Friday After Dallas Wins Its Third Straight Game Against VGK Wednesday; Stars Win, 3-2,

 

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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer

Hockey’s defending champs are on the ropes.

The Vegas Golden Knights lost a close one to the Dallas Stars in Texas tonight and will fight for survival on Friday when the Stars look to eliminate the 2023 Stanley Cup champions.

Let’s be honest — there’s little difference between these two teams, which played in the Western Conference Finals last season that resulted in the VGK winning in six games on the way to a Cup championship over the Florida Panthers.

The Knights scored two goals in the first period and did not light the lamp for the next two periods as Dallas held on for a 3-2 win and a 3-2 lead in the Best-of-7 first round series.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy pushed some buttons to try to reverse the two losses at T-Mobile Arena.

Inserted in the lineup were goalie Adin Hill, forward Pavel Dorofeyev and defenseman Ben Hutton.

Same result — a Vegas loss and one game from enduring a postgame handshake line.

“It’s been a tight series. Back and forth a lot,” Hanifin said.

“That was a tough one. We had some chances to tie it in the third but couldn’t really finish. It’s been tight. Every game is a battle. Our focus has shift to getting the win at home. We can’t lose three in a row at home,” he said. “We have to push it to a Game 7. That’s where our mindset is.”

In period one, VGK captain Mark Stone deflected in a Noah Hanifin shot past Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger.

After Dallas tied the score at one apiece, then moved ahead, 2-1, before VGK winger Will Carrier made a great individual effort to lock the game at two each after the first 20 minutes.

Jason Robertson scored the game-winner, forcing Vegas into a do-or-die situation on Friday.

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In period three, VGK forward Chandler Stephenson broke in on Oettinger in an effort to tie the game.

Oettinger extended his right leg to stop Stephenson’s shot.

Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said, “We talked about not sitting back too much. It’s tough with that mindset because they’ve got some dangerous players. When you’re playing from behind like that, you just start to take more chances and your defenseman jumps in and activate a little bit more, and that creates some problems. They got a few good looks, but it was the best twenty minutes in the playoffs for Jake [Oettinger] in the third when we needed him.”

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PSA