Stars look to stay alive without suspended Benn in Game 4 of West Final

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars need a win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at American Airlines Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS) to keep their season alive, and they will have to do it without captain Jamie Benn.

The forward was suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Wednesday for his cross-check against Golden Knights forward Mark Stone 1:53 into Game 3 on Tuesday, a 4-0 loss that has the Stars trailing 3-0 in the best-of-7 series.

"Well, big hole, but you have to find a way," Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Wednesday. "It's that time of the year. It's got to be the next man up.

"We're at home, guys are excited to play. We've got big motivation; 1) not getting swept, [and] 2) trying to give Jamie Benn a chance to get back in the lineup again. So, that motivation's there."

Benn may not be the only absence. Forward Evgenii Dadonov is doubtful for Game 4 after colliding with teammate Roope Hintz in the first period Tuesday.

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Stars series coverage]

Dadonov, whom the Stars acquired from the Montreal Canadiens for forward Denis Gurianov on Feb. 26, has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games. That will mean two-thirds of the Stars' third line will be out; Benn is the left wing, with Dadonov on the right and Wyatt Johnston at center.

DeBoer said he spoke with general manager Jim Nill and Scott White, general manager of Texas, their American Hockey League affiliate, about potential promotions from the minors.

"We'll see who's available, who isn't, how many holes we have to fill," DeBoer said, "and then the question becomes, are you better putting in a young guy for his potentially first NHL game in a situation like this, or are you going to go with someone who's been on the road with us the entire time?

"I think the easy answer is, whoever gives you the best chance to win. That's the bottom line. We'll weigh all those things."

This isn't the first time Dallas has been without a top player this postseason. Forward Joe Pavelski sustained a concussion on a hit from Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba in Game 1 of the first round and did not return until Game 1 of the second round against the Seattle Kraken.

Others stepped up in Pavelski's absence, including forward Tyler Seguin, who took Pavelski's place on the top line with left wing Jason Robertson and Hintz, as well as on the top power-play unit.

"I'm sure a bunch of guys are going to take advantage," Robertson said. "I don't know who's going to take his spot in some situations, but we've had a lot of players this year step up when guys got hurt. Or even when 'Pavs' was hurt in the first round, guys were able to step up. We have them in our locker room, and we need it tomorrow."

Benn was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Stone. Vegas was already leading 1-0 and scored again on the ensuing power play.

"I'm not going to sit here and say I loved it, but we got the five-minute power play, [and] the refs handled it the way it should've been handled," Stone said. "We got a big goal from it and got a ton of momentum for our team. Yeah, I didn't love what transpired, but it got handled the right way. We stuck together as a team. Now, the focus is Game 4."

Benn had 78 points (33 goals, 45 assists) in 82 regular-season games, second on the Stars to Robertson (109 points; 46 goals, 63 assists).

He has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 16 playoff games, fourth on the Stars behind Hintz with 22 (10 goals, 12 assists), Robertson (15 points; four goals, 11 assists) and Pavelski (12 points; eight goals, four assists).

Benn has averaged 16:34 of ice time per game this postseason and is also part of Dallas' top power-play unit. But he is unavailable for Game 4 and Dadonov may be too, putting the Stars in a quandary with their season on the line.

"You see he's a huge, huge part of this team, been a cornerstone, face of this franchise for a long, long time," Stars forward Max Domi said. " … We're going to be playing for him. We'll do everything we can to get that next one."