Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 36: Golden Knights score three goals in first period to take 3-0 series lead

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 36: Golden Knights score three goals in first period to take 3-0 series lead
Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Stars looked to change the outlook of this series against the Vegas Golden Knights as it shifted to Dallas, but Game 3 did anything but that. The Golden Knights took an early 3-0 lead and didn’t look back, winning 4-0 as they now have the Stanley Cup Final in their grasp with a 3-0 series lead.

The Golden Knights carried the momentum from their Game 2 win with an early goal. Just 1:11 into the period, Jack Eichel caught the puck out of the air and made the quick pass to Jonathan Marchessault, who was wide open for the one-timer to make it 1-0.

Things got bad to worse for the Stars in just the first two minutes, as captain Jamie Benn knocked down Mark Stone on a reckless play. He ended up with a five-minute major and was kicked out of the game, a big blow to the Stars and an even bigger momentum killer.

The Stars nearly got the game tied on the penalty kill though, as Ty Dellandrea and Wyatt Johnston had a great 2-on-1 chance, but the puck just hopped over Johnston’s stick on the rebound. To make matters worse, the Golden Knights went back the other way, and Ivan Barbashev beat Jake Oettinger high with a minute left on the five-minute major.

And only 1:13 later, the Golden Knight’s lead built up to 3-0 after William Carrier’s backhander beat Jake Oettinger on a goal he’d probably want back. That forced Oettinger out of the game after allowing three goals on five shots, and Scott Wedgewood entered the game in relief.

The salt kept pouring into the wound for the Stars in the first, as they also lost Evgenii Dadonov to injury after he collided with Roope Hintz on the power play. All in all, a forgettable period for Dallas.

It didn’t get much better in the second period either. The Stars appeared to have calmed the storm for the first several minutes of the frame, but that changed again when Alex Pietrangelo scored on a wrist shot from the point to make it 4-0.

That’s when things started to get ugly. Max Domi cross-checked Nicolas Hague into the boards, and it started a scrum between both teams that resulted in the officials ending the period with 21 seconds left on the clock. Domi wasn’t booted out of the game like Benn, but he did end up with 14 penalty minutes.

Stars fans also seemed to join in on the ugliness, as one of them decided to throw their popcorn at Adin Hill as the Golden Knights were returning to the ice for the third period.

The Stars tried to at least get on the board in the third period, but Hill just wouldn’t allow it, including these quick few saves on Radek Faksa.

Hill ended up with 34 saves on the night to get the first shutout of his playoff career, and the Golden Knights take Game 3 by a score of 4-0, and are one win away from reaching the second Stanley Cup Final in their franchise’s history. Barbashev finished the night with a goal and two assists to lead Vegas in scoring, while Nicholas Roy also had two assists in the game.

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