Dallas – The Vegas Golden Knights kept their composure and retaliated best against their captain after an ugly opening goal.
They lead 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals and are now just one win away from reaching another Stanley Cup Final.
Ivan Barbashev then scored a power play goal Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn was sent off for his punch at Mark Stone less than two minutes after the start of the game. That was the second of three goals the Golden Knights scored in the opening 7 1/2 minutes, leading to an early out for goaltender Jake Oettinger as they won 4-0 in Game 3 on Tuesday night.
“You keep your composure,” said Alex Pietrangelo, who He scored a goal midway through the second period.
After the two captains collided near the blue line and Stone fell to the ice, Benn lunged forward with both hands on the stick and touched Stone’s neck as he slid over the center line.
“We’re upset when we see that, he’s our captain,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “But at the end of the day, they make a decision that gives us the chance to make them pay the fine. And we still managed to score one goal, so we doubled our lead. … Do it right. That was our attitude all along.”
While Oettinger had the shortest start of his career, Vegas goalie Adin Hill stopped 34 shots in his first career postseason shutout. Hill also became the Knights’ second goaltender on a five-game winning streak this postseason – Laurent Brossoit winning five games in a row before getting injured.
After four straight comeback wins in these playoffs, including two overtime wins at home to open the best-of-seven series, the Golden Knights have been in control all along this playoff.
Game 4 takes place on Thursday night when Vegas has the opportunity to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in the franchise’s six seasons.
The Golden Knights were Western Conference champions in their inaugural 2017-18 season, then lost the cup final in five games after winning the opener against the Washington Capitals. Vegas missed the playoffs for the only time last season before coach Pete DeBoer was fired and became coach of the Stars.
Johnathan Marchessault scored just 71 seconds into the gamewhich was just 42 seconds earlier Benn was charged with a misconduct after a five-minute cross-check.
“Let’s put it this way: He made a mistake. He’s really sorry. I don’t think anyone in the building is worse off than him,” DeBoer said. “I’m not going to push myself, he’s been a leader here his entire career and leads every day on and off the ice. … Luckily Mark Stone is fine and we have to live with the consequences.”
The Stars played the rest of the game without Benn, who could also face an NHL suspension after the league reviewed the game.
Just before Benn’s early exit, Hill suffered a wrist blow that was stopped by Hill but was initially still loose under the goalie as Benn tried to get his racquet back on it.
The Gate of Barbashev, who went on to have two assists, was one of just three shots the Knights netted during the five-minute penalty. His 30-foot handball throw to make it 2-0 came after a break was blocked by Ty Dellandrea outnumbered and Nicolas Roy took the rebound the other way before passing it to Barbashev.
“What goes unnoticed in there is Adin Hill’s save in shorthand 2-on-1… and we come down and score,” Cassidy said. “Those 15 seconds of hockey have a tremendous impact on the game.”
Oettinger was pulled off and replaced by Scott Wedgewood after William Carrier’s backhand made it 3-0 with 12:50 left in the first period.
The 24-year-old Oettinger has now lost three starts in a row. He has lost four games out of five, winning with 22 saves for the Stars in a 2-1 win in Game 7 of the Western Semifinals against Seattle.
Wedgewood stopped 10 of 11 shots, with Pietrangelo’s goal coming just a second after a power play ended when Miro Heiskanen came out of the box.
Stars center Max Domi suffered a game misconduct penalty with 21 seconds left in the second period. After counter-checking Nicolas Hague, Domi started punching.
“I think you guys know exactly what was discussed,” Hague said when asked what led to the incident. “There’s no reason for me to get involved in anything. It is what it is and we have achieved a great victory.”
Fans in the arena responded to the penalty by throwing water bottles, food and other items onto the ice. With the court taking longer to clean up, officials sent both teams to their dressing rooms early for the second break, with the Knights leading 4-0.
That final 21 seconds was played after the break before the clock reset to 20 minutes for the third period.
“It was a little weird,” Hill said. “I’ve certainly never seen so much stuff on the ice.”
NOTES: Stars forward Evegenii Dadonov left the team in the first third with a lower body injury and never returned. … It was the first Western Conference final in Dallas since May 19, 2008, when the Stars lost to Detroit in the crucial sixth game.
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