*Photo from Yahoo News*
Vegas leads series 3-1
Unlike the east, this series isn't over yet. Jason Robertson scored twice, Joe Pavelski won the game, and the Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights with a 3-2 overtime victory on Thursday night in Dallas.
On the verge of being swept by the Golden Knights, the Stars forced at least one more game in the series, staving off elimination for the moment. In addition to Robertson's two goal game, Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen each produced two assists for the Stars.
Robertson said of the win that "I think we were playing a lot faster, a lot quicker. More predictable, clean on our breakouts, supporting the puck. Holding onto pucks more in the offensive zone, getting some rotations, causing some scrambles, and getting a lot of opportunities."
It was the Golden Knights who started the scoring in game 4. William Karlsson deflected a shot into the net 4:17 into the game, making it 1-0 Vegas on his 8th goal of the playoffs. On the power play later in the first, Robertson scored for the Stars, tying the score 1-1 on his 5th goal, assisted by Hintz and Heiskanen.
Jonathan Marchessault scored 10:23 into the second period for Vegas, giving them a 2-1 lead on his 8th goal of the playoffs. At the 17:21 mark of the second, Robertson found the goal again, tying the game on his second goal of the night. There would be no more scoring until overtime, when Pavelski scored 3:18 into the extra period to give the Stars the win.
Pavelski said after the game that "It's such a fine line this time of year. You're going good and all of a sudden you look and you're in a 3-0 hole. Couple of overtime losses and played some good hockey along the way. You just have to keep putting your game out there and having the belief that you can buy more time and earn more time. So, we'll see where this goes. We're excited about tonight and we'll get some rest. We'll look to do it again and keep trying to put a little doubt in their minds."
The goal in OT was a special one for Pavelski, beyond simply winning the game. That goal gave him 73 playoff goals in his illustrious career, setting a record for playoff goals by US born players. It also gives him the most playoff goals among active NHL players.
Getting the start for the Stars was once again Jake Oettinger, who snapped a 3 game losing streak with a win. Oettinger stopped 37 of the 39 shots he was tested with by Vegas, which was good for a .949 save percentage.
It was Adin Hill in net again for the Golden Knights, seeing his own winning streak come to an end. Hill turned aside 39 out of the 42 shots on goal that the Stars sent his way, recording a .929 save percentage in the loss.
Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said that "We weren't fast early on. I don't think we managed pucks well below the goal line. Now, by the time you get it out, you're tired. When you're changing, and you're not in your structure, they're coming through. I think there was a little bit of that going on early, where we allowed them through there and they were executing. I just thought today below the goal line our team didn't execute like they normally do on the breakout."
Up next, the series heads back to Vegas for game 5, set for Saturday night. The Golden Knights will once again try to close out the series, while Dallas needs to win again to keep the series going.
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