(1C) Stars at (2WC) Golden Knights
Western Conference First Round, Game 3
10:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MAX, truTV, TBS, BSSW, SN360, SN, TVAS
Vegas leads best-of-7 series 2-0
LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights will try to take a 3-0 series lead against the Dallas Stars for the second straight season in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
Vegas jumped to a 3-0 lead against Dallas in the Western Conference Final last season, won the series in six games and went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights also went 3-0-0 against the Stars during the regular season.
Last season, the first two games of the series each was decided in overtime. During this series, each was decided by essentially one goal. Vegas won 4-3 in Game 1 and 3-1 in Game 2 with an empty-net goal.
“Was there a dominant team in either one of those games?” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I don’t think so. We made some plays when we needed to at important times. Timely goals. Timely saves. We had a bit of an edge there, and it could easily flip, so that’s it. Got to get better.”
Dallas had a .695 points percentage on the road during the regular season, best in the NHL. It has 19 road wins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2019, tied with Vegas for third in the League behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (25) and Colorado Avalanche (21).
“I think we’re a confident group,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I think we’re obviously not in a great spot. But we’re also a veteran group, and we understand that you win one game and things change. Pressure points change. Attitudes change.”
Teams that have taken a 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series have won the series 98.1 percent of the time (202-4).
Here are 3 Keys for Game 3:
1. Rush chances
After averaging 3.59 goals per game during the regular season, third in the NHL, Dallas has four goals in two games in this series.
Part of the reason is the Golden Knights' emphasis on preventing rush chances. Cassidy said the Stars are built to attack off the rush more this season with the additions of center Matt Duchene and forward Logan Stankoven and the growth of center Wyatt Johnston and defenseman Thomas Harley.
“The game plan was to eliminate that rush game,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy said some of Dallas' better chances come with Harley jumping into the play.
“They get above our forwards really well,” Harley said. “They don’t give you any free offense. They don’t really turn puck over at the blue line. It’s tough to really get any great rush chances off. You’ve really got to work. You’ve got to beat their backcheckers up the ice.”
2. The lead
Another reason is that the Stars have played with the lead for only 1:22 in the series. That was in the first period of Game 2.
“I don’t think either team’s given up very much off the rush, and you’ve got two of the best rush teams in the League,” DeBoer said. “I think obviously both teams are paying attention to that, so you’ve got to find other ways to create offense. You’re not going to get a lot of that.
“I think if you can get a lead, though, some of that can change. You can put them out of their comfort zone.”
3. Maturity
When the Golden Knights have had the lead, they have been smart. Ahead 2-1 lead entering the third period of Game 2, they locked down the victory by holding the Stars to five shots in the period, none in the final 6:45.
“I think that’s important, playing winning hockey at the right time,” Cassidy said. “The maturity of the group is ahead of last year, because they won. They understand what’s at stake. It’s not about padding your totals, whatnot. It’s about playing the right way.”
Stars projected lineup
Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment -- Matt Duchene -- Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Logan Stankoven
Sam Steel -- Radek Faksa -- Evgenii Dadonov
Thomas Harley -- Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell -- Chris Tanev
Ryan Suter -- Nils Lundkvist
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: Mavrik Bourque, Ty Dellandrea, Craig Smith
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Jonathan Marchessault
Brett Howden -- Chandler Stephenson -- Mark Stone
Tomas Hertl -- William Karlsson -- Anthony Mantha
William Carrier -- Nicolas Roy -- Keegan Kolesar
Noah Hanifin -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Zach Whitecloud -- Alec Martinez
Logan Thompson
Adin Hill
Scratched: Michael Amadio, Paul Cotter, Pavel Dorofeyev, Ben Hutton
Injured: Nicolas Hague (lower body)
Status report
Bourque, a forward, was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Friday. ... Marchment and Faksa each will be a game-time decision after sustaining undisclosed injuries late in the third period of Game 2. If neither can play, Bourque would enter the lineup for Marchment, and Smith, a forward, would replace Faksa. … Karlsson was absent from the Golden Knights morning skate Saturday but is expected to play.
NHL.com independent correspondent Paul Delos Santos contributed to this report
