Stars eliminated from playoffs, Game 3 meltdown among culprits

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights with a 6-0 loss in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Monday.

Dallas, which fell behind 3-0 in the best-of-7 series, had been able to stave off elimination twice before unraveling in Game 6, when it allowed three goals in the first period.

Dallas (47-21-14) finished the regular season second in the Central Division, one point behind the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild in six games in the first round and the Seattle Kraken in seven games in the second round before losing to the Golden Knights.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Evgenii Dadonov, F; Max Domi, F; Luke Glendening, F; Joel Kiviranta, F; Fredrik Olofsson, F; Joel Hanley, D; Dylan Wells, G

Potential restricted free agents: Ty Dellandrea, F

Potential 2023 Draft Picks:5

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

Here are five reasons the Stars were eliminated:

1. Game 3 meltdown

Game 3 was lost shortly after Stars captain Jamie Benn took a cross-checking penalty on Mark Stone 1:53 into the first period. Benn was issued a major penalty and game misconduct for the infraction, and the Golden Knights were able to score on the power play, increasing their lead to 2-0 en route to a 4-0 win. Dallas needed a victory to keep from falling behind 3-0 in the series after losing the first two games on the road in overtime. Only four teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings in 1942 (final), the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1975 (quarterfinal), the Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins in 2010 (quarterfinal) and the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks in 2014 (first round), have been able to come back from down 3-0 to win a series, and no team had ever done it in a conference final. The Stars managed to extend the series to six games but eventually ran out of gas.

2. Lack of complimentary scoring

The Stars were able to get through the first two rounds of the playoffs despite forward Jason Robertson scoring two goals in 13 games. Robertson led Dallas with 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists) in 82 games during the regular season. He found his scoring touch in the conference final with five goals in six games, but everyone else went cold. Tyler Seguin didn't have a point, and neither did Wyatt Johnston. Roope Hintz had two assists in the final five games of the series, and Benn had one goal in four games. Dellandrea scored twice in a 4-2 win in Game 5 after being a healthy scratch in the first two games of the series, but that was the extent of his offensive contribution.

3. Power-play woes

The Golden Knights are notorious for taking few penalties, averaging 2.7 per game in the playoffs, and only gave the Stars 11 power plays through six games. Dallas did go 2-for-2 in the 3-2 overtime win in Game 4 to stave off elimination for the first time, but it scored just one power-play goal in the other five games. The Stars finished the series 3-for-11 on the man-advantage, which is not a terrible percentage (27.2 percent), but they needed to produce more. Drawing a few more penalties would have helped as well.

4. Oettinger outplayed

Jake Oettinger was expected to be a difference-maker in the series but ended up getting outplayed by Adin Hill, the Golden Knights' fourth option in net this season behind Robin Lehner, Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit. Oettinger gave up seven goals in the first two games, a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 and a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2. He was pulled after giving up three goals on five shots in Game 3. Two solid performances in Game 4 and a 4-2 win in Game 5 helped the Stars get back in the series, but Oettinger gave up six goals on 29 shots in Game 6, which was more than enough for Hill and the Golden Knights. Hill made 23 saves in Game 6 for his second shutout of the playoffs. Oettinger finished the postseason with a 3.06 goals-against average and .895 save percentage. Hill has a 2.07 GAA and .937 save percentage since taking over from Brossoit, who sustained a lower-body injury in Game 3 of the second round.

5. Overtime struggles

Often overtime games are determined by a bounce, so losing the first two games of the series may have more to do with bad luck, but the Stars were unable to find the next goal to win Games 1 and 2. Had they been able to win at least one of the two OT games and earn a split on the road, things might have been different. But Brett Howden's goal 1:35 into overtime in Game 1, which he banked in off Oettinger, and Chandler Stephenson's rebound goal at 1:12 in Game 2 put the Stars in essentially a must-win situation in Game 3. They were unable to win Game 3 and fell into a 3-0 hole, which proved too deep.