*Photo from the Press Democrat*
Vegas leads series 1-0
Thankfully, this did not turn into a 4 overtime game. Zach Whitecloud had two assists, Brett Howden scored the winner, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime on Friday night in Vegas.
In a back and forth duel, it was the Golden Knights who came out on top, winning their 3rd straight game. Karlsson scored twice in addition to Whitecloud's two assist game, with Vegas prevailing in just one overtime in game one rather than 4.
Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said that "I said, 'Let’s get this over with early so everyone can go home tonight.' I watched the Florida-Carolina game from start to finish. I found out the beauty of being out West now. When the game ended, it was 11 o'clock at night. We were able to capitalize on the first look. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it's four overtimes."
The only goal of the first period came courtesy of Jason Robertson. He gave the Stars a 1-0 lead with 1:16 left in the opening frame, assisted by Roope Hintz. The only goal of the second came from Vegas, with Karlsson tying the game 1-1 at the 9:17 mark of the second period, with assists going to Whitecloud and Nicolas Roy.
Karlsson scored again just 1:19 into the 3rd period to give Vegas a 2-1 lead. Hintz then scored 4:01 into the 3rd to tie the game back up 2-2, assisted by Robertson and Joe Pavelski. Teddy Blueger then scored to put Vegas ahead 3-2 before Jamie Benn scored for the Stars to tie the game and force overtime. Howden then scored 1:35 into overtime to give Vegas the big win.
Cassidy said of Howden's goal that "Everyone has a different formula. Can't always be the stars or the guys that you would expect. That's what's been good about our team. Different people step up in key moments."
It was once again Adin Hill who got the start for Vegas, picking up the win to open the series. Hill stopped 33 of the 36 shots he was faced with by the Stars, giving him a .917 save percentage on the game.
Getting the start in net for the Stars was Jake Oettinger, who couldn't outduel Hill and Vegas. Oettinger turned aside 33 out of the 37 shots on goal the Golden Knights sent at him, good for a .892 save percentage.
Dallas head coach Pete Deboer said of the loss that "I didn't like our start. They were more ready to play than we were. Probably could've anticipated it. They were better than us. I thought we battled back in the game. Again, they were better in more areas than us most of the night, so probably the right result and we've got to up our level."
Up next, game two of the series is on Sunday afternoon back in Vegas. The Golden Knights look to take a 2-0 series lead at home while the Stars look to tie the series at a game apiece and force at least a game 5.
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