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Vegas leads series 2-0
Through 4 conference finals games, they've all gone to overtime. Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and an assist, Chandler Stephenson won the game, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in overtime on Sunday afternoon in Vegas.
After an overtime win in game one, the Golden Knights did the same in game two, winning both games at home to start the series. Stephenson, Marchessault, and Mark Stone each had a goal and an assist for Vegas, with 3 other Vegas skaters picking up an assist.
Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said that "We tried to build in a culture that we're going to use everybody and rely on everybody. We're going to expect our best players to be the best players and followers to follow along and do what they do best. We're going to give them an opportunity to do that, as well. We're going to play them so they feel like they have value on the team."
Starting the scoring for the Stars was Miro Heiskanen. He gave the Stars a 1-0 lead just 2:47 into the game, scoring his first goal of the playoffs with assists from Ryan Suter and Luke Glendening. Stone scored on the power play at the 10:08 mark of the first, making it 1-1 with Stephenson and Marchessault assisting.
The only goal of the second period came from Jason Robertson, who put the Stars ahead 2-1 with assists going to Suter and Evgenii Dadonov on his 4th goal of the playoffs. Marchessault scored in the 3rd period with less than 3 minutes left in regulation, forcing overtime. Stephenson then scored just 1:12 into overtime to give Vegas the win at home on his first playoff overtime goal.
Stephenson said of the feat that "It's my first, so anytime you're in the playoffs, and watching it growing up, to be able to get a game-winner is pretty special. It hasn't really hit me yet that it happened. It's cool and to go up 2-0 is important for our group."
Getting the start for the Golden Knights was once again Adin Hill, who had another big game in net. Hill made 26 saves on the 28 shots he saw from the Stars, which was good for a .929 save percentage in the win.
It was the usual suspect known as Jake Oettinger who started for the Stars, getting stuck with another overtime loss. Oettinger stopped 21 out of the 24 shots on goal that the Golden Knights had, giving him a .875 save percentage on the game.
Stars head coach Pete Deboer said that "I mean, sure, we could've won both games. They held serve at home, we've got to go and do the same thing. I don't think it's less troubling that we lost both games in overtime. I think the positive piece is that we played a much better game tonight, and if we play that type of game, we've got a chance to win when we go home."
Up next, the series shifts to Dallas for the next two games, with game 3 set for Tuesday night. The Golden Knights look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead, while the Stars need to win to get themselves back into the series.
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