Jason Robertson broke a tie with a power-play goal in the second period and the Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 Wednesday at the American Airlines Center in Game 5 of their NHL first-round series .
The Stars therefore lead the series 3-2. The sixth game will take place Friday in Las Vegas.
Robertson and Matt Duchene scored on the power play for the Stars, who were 2-for-4 on the power play during the game. Evgenii Dadonov also scored, while Wyatt Johnston had two assists. Jake Oettinger stopped 25 shots.
Mark Stone and William Carrier responded for the Golden Knights, defending Stanley Cup champions. Adin Hill made 22 saves.
Logan Thompson had been the Golden Knights’ starting goalie for the first four games.
Hill was one of the architects of the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup victory last season. He began the spring tournament in a backup goalie role, but after Laurent Brossoit was injured in the second round, Hill earned the trust of his head coach and compiled an 11-4 record with a save percentage of , 932 and a goals against average of 2.17.
His return in front of the net on Wednesday did not have the desired effect.
Stone started the hostilities after 4:00 of play, on the power play. He deflected a Noah Hanifin shot past Oettinger.
Dadonov responded for the Stars just 62 seconds later. He fired into the top corner after receiving a pass from Logan Stankoven during a two-on-one attack.
Duchene gave the Stars the lead at 8:04, on the power play. He slipped a loose puck under Hill’s right pad.
Carrier in turn gave the answer for the Golden Knights, at 12:31. He surprised Oettinger by going around the back of the net.
The Golden Knights almost regained the lead before the end of the first period. Brett Howden, however, hit the crossbar.
For the Stars, Joe Pavelski missed an open net early in the second period, during a power play. Moments later, defender Ben Hutton came to Hill’s rescue, blocking a Stankoven shot.
The tide could have turned halfway through the second period. Dadonov escaped, but was unable to shoot, falling victim to a harpoon shot from Hill. In the following seconds, Tyler Seguin stunned Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore with a check along the boards.
The referees initially awarded a major penalty to Seguin, before reducing the penalty to a minor penalty after reviewing the video footage. The Golden Knights were unable to score on the power play.
The scenario repeated itself at the end of the second period. Alex Pietrangelo hit Seguin in the face with his fist, cutting the Stars forward. The referees initially awarded a major penalty, before reducing the penalty after video review.
The Stars, however, took advantage of the numerical advantage to take a 3-2 lead with 3:28 to go. Robertson tried twice to move the ropes.
Dadonov wasted another scoring opportunity before the end of the second period. He missed the target after receiving a pass from Stankoven during a three-man attack by the Stars against goaltender Hill.
The Stars defended their territory well in the third period. Oettinger closed the door by making 11 saves during the engagement.
Oettinger made his best save at the expense of Chandler Stephenson. He stretched his right pad to frustrate the Golden Knights forward, who had escaped with less than three minutes remaining on the clock.