Survive And Advance: Golden Knights Clamp Down Stars In Elimination Game Six, 2-0, Behind Goalie Adin Hill, Goals By Hanifin, Stone; Game 7 Set For Dallas Sunday

 

 

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   Story by Alan Snel   Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

Not much separates the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars.

So a Game 7 to decide this Stanley Cup first round showdown seems just about right.

The defending Cup champs, trailing three games to two to Dallas and playing with their season in the balance here in Las Vegas Friday, relied on a third period goal by acquisition defenseman Noah Hanifin, who made a gorgeous move and shot to beat Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger with about nine minutes left in period three.

Here’s the sequence of photos showing the Hanifin goal:

VGK’s Mark Stone added an empty-netter to seal the Knights’ 2-0 win in Game 6 and force a Game 7 in two days after VGK goalie Adin Hill stopped 23 of 23 shots on goal..

Game 7 is in Dallas Sunday. The winner plays a well-rested Colorado Avalanche squad that dispatched the Winnipeg Jets in five games.

Hill was superb in net, pitching a shutout in the season’s most important game.

Knights coach Bruce Cassidy recalled Hill shut out Dallas twice last season in the Western Conference Finals and exhorted Hill to pitch a fourth shutout against Dallas Sunday.

At his post-game presser, Cassidy made the following points:

• It sure felt like an entertaining 0-0 game.
• On a crazy sequence with about three minutes left in the second period when Jonathan Marchessault hit the post and then Hill made a big save on the other end: “It’s playoff hockey. You’re almost just enjoying it.”
• On playing with a 1-0 lead in the third period and not going into a shell to protect the lead: He wanted the Knights to stay aggressive and just manage the puck.
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Hill (left) and Hanifin (right)

 

Stone scored an empty-netter the length of the ice and the Knights and Stars will decide things Sunday in Texas.

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PSA