Johnston scores OT goal for the ages for Stars in Game 3 against Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -- Wyatt Johnston is just 20 years old. The Dallas Stars center doesn’t turn 21 until May 14.

“He still can’t get into the casino and play cards,” Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said. “He’s not old enough.”

Yet he hit it big on the Strip on Saturday.

Johnston scored his second goal of the night 16:23 into overtime, giving the Stars a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena.

Had the Stars lost, they would have fallen behind the Golden Knights 3-0 in a best-of-7 series for the second straight season. They did it against them in the conference final last season, ended up losing to them in six games and watched them go on to win the Stanley Cup.

This time, Dallas cut Vegas’ lead to 2-1. Game 4 is here Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSW, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

“You don’t want to go down 3-0 to the defending Stanley Cup champs,” Johnston said. “I think it’s that desperation coming out and making sure we’re doing all those things that make us successful.”

Johnston is a big reason the Stars are considered Stanley Cup contenders.

Selected in the first round (No. 23) of the 2021 NHL Draft, he had 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists) in 82 games as a 19-year-old rookie last season, then six points (four goals, two assists) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

He had 65 points (32 goals, 33 assists) in 82 games this season, leading Dallas in goals.

The Stars have a mix of players on their roster -- veterans hungry for a championship, players in the middle of their NHL careers and young up-and-comers like Johnston.

“We’ve taken a lot of pride in the different ages we have on our team, the different times of the careers we have,” veteran forward Tyler Seguin said. “[We’ve seen] him last year and then how much he’s evolved to this year. It’s one thing being elite in the regular season, but to do it in playoffs as his age, that’s great.”

After averaging 3.59 goals per game in the regular season, third in the NHL, Dallas had four goals in the first two games against Vegas.

The Stars responded by dominating the first 30 minutes of Game 3.

Johnston backhanded a rebound between the pads of goalie Logan Thompson 11:11 into the first period to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen finished a tic-tac-toe play at 5:25 of the second to make it 2-0.

Midway through regulation, the Stars were outshooting the Golden Knights 30-10. Thompson was the only reason their lead wasn’t larger.

“He was like Dominik Hasek down there,” Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said. “He was incredible.”

Vegas came back to tie it 2-2. Defenseman Brayden McNabb scored at 10:40 of the second, and center Jack Eichel followed with a shorthanded goal 3:10 later. The second half of regulation, the Golden Knights outshot the Stars 17-8.

But the Stars stuck with it, even though Thompson continued to shine.

Thompson stopped Johnston with his left pad at 14:28 of overtime. Then Johnston took a pass at the red line, accelerated over the blue line, darted to the right and cut around defenseman Shea Theodore. As Theodore stretched out his stick, Johnston flicked the puck over Thompson’s left shoulder and under the crossbar.

“He had a chance to go five-hole in overtime, and he was a little frustrated,” Seguin said. “But the next shift, you saw what he did. It’s just about bouncing back and continuing on.”

Johnston adjusted.

“I tried a couple low, and it didn’t work,” he said. “So I figured I’d try to throw one up high, and lucky enough, it worked.”

This might be Vegas, but it wasn’t luck. Remember, he can’t go in the casino, anyway.

“Really incredible play,” DeBoer said.

Johnston’s final stat line: two goals, plus-2, eight shots on goal and 15 shot attempts in 23:50.

He became the youngest player in Stars/Minnesota North Stars history to score an overtime goal in the playoffs, breaking the previous mark set by Steve Ott, who was 21 when he scored in overtime in Game 3 of Conference Quarterfinals in 2004.

“I thought he was just outstanding tonight,” DeBoer said. “For a kid to be under 21 years old and be on that ice with that level of player and look like he did all night tonight, just an outstanding player.”

Johnston said the playoffs definitely feel a lot different this season. He got to go to the conference final last season, play against the Golden Knights and experience the over-the-top atmosphere of T-Mobile Arena, and he gained confidence.

He’s growing up in front of our eyes. DeBoer said he will be in the next generation of stars in the NHL.

“Everyone in here knows how good he is and what a good person he is,” Oettinger said. “The sky’s the limit for him, so when he does stuff like that, no one in here’s surprised. I’m just so happy for him, and such a good kid. I’m happy he’s in green and white.”