The Dallas Stars started May with a return to Dallas, Texas, to host the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5. The Stars held on for a 3-2 win over the Golden Knights at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday night. Dallas improved to 3-2, while Vegas fell to 2-3.
Stars head coach Pete DeBoer tweaked the Stars’ starting lineup, which featured Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Chris Tanev, Esa Lindell, and Jake Oettinger. Oettinger made 25 saves for a win. Meanwhile, Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill made 22 saves in a losing effort.
It was deja vu all over again, as the Golden Knights quickly opened the scoring on a first-period power play. Miro Heiskanen was called for holding against Tomas Hertl at 3:51. Mark Stone tipped in a shot into the Stars’ net for a power-play goal and a 1-0 lead at the four-minute mark. Noah Hanifin and Jack Eichel collected the assists on Stone’s second of the playoffs.
The Golden Knights’ lead was short-lived, as the Stars wasted no time responding. Evgenii Dadonov, a former Vegas Golden Knight from 2021-22, tucked a snap shot into the net to tie the game 1-1 at 5:02. Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnston collected the assists on Dadonov’s second of the playoffs.
The Stars took a one-goal lead on the power play. William Carrier was called for tripping against Sam Steel at 6:33. Matt Duchene put a backhand shot in the Golden Knights’ net for a 2-1 lead at 8:04. Wyatt Johnston and Tyler Seguin collected the assists on Duchene’s first goal of the playoffs and first power-play goal as a Dallas Star.
The Stars’ lead was short-lived, as the Golden Knights responded. William Carrier scored a wraparound goal to tie the game 2-2 at 12:31. Ivan Barbashev and Brayden McNabb collected the assists on Carrier’s first of the playoffs.
The Stars and Golden Knights were tied 2-2 at the end of the first period. Dallas outshot Vegas 11-9 after 20 minutes.
After nearly 17 minutes of a scoring drought, Dallas took a one-goal lead. Alex Pietrangelo was called for roughing against Tyler Seguin at 15:19. Jason Robertson fired a wrist shot into the Golden Knights’ net for a power-play goal and a 3-2 lead at 16:32. Miro Heiskanen and Jamie Benn collected the assists on Robertson’s third of the playoffs.
The Stars brought a 3-2 lead to the locker room at the end of two periods. Dallas outshot Vegas 17-16 through 40 minutes.
Neither the Stars nor the Golden Knights scored in the third period.
The Golden Knights pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with less than two minutes left in regulation, but the Stars hung on for a 3-2 win. Vegas outshot Dallas 27-25 after 60 minutes.
Notes
Three Stars of the Game
1. Jason Robertson (1 point: 1 goal)
2. Wyatt Johnston (2 points: 2 assists)
3. Jake Oettinger (2.00 GAA and .926 SV%)
Reassignment to Texas
The Dallas Stars announced Wednesday that they reassigned defenseman Lian Bichsel to the Texas Stars.
Bichsel, 19, started the 2023-24 regular season with Texas, where he recorded seven points in 16 games. He made his AHL debut and picked up his first career point on October 13, 2023 vs. Tucson. Bichsel recorded a multi-point performance on November 4, 2023, at Iowa and scored his first AHL goal the following night against the Wild.
Reassigned to Rögle BK on Dec. 4, 2023, Bichsel registered four points in 29 regular-season games. He added six points in 15 playoff games and scored the lone goal in Rögle BK’s 1-0 victory over Skellefteå AIK in Game 2 of the SHL Championship. Skellefteå AIK won the SHL Championship in five games.
The 6-foot-6, 233-pound defenseman was selected by Dallas with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Up Next
The Stars will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 on Friday at TBD.
ITR 37: Round Two – Inside The Rink
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