(Las Vegas) Head coach Pete DeBoer said he doesn’t want his team to get used to being in this situation, but the Dallas Stars have shown a superb ability to respond to adversity early in their National Hockey League playoff duels this year.
Including the 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night, the Stars started each of their three series with an overtime loss.
They came from behind to beat the Minnesota Wild in six first-round games before eliminating the Seattle Kraken in a seven-game endurance test. The Stars are now down 1-0 against the team with the best record this season in the Western Conference.
“The good news is the other two series ended well,” DeBoer said. This is what we want once again. But we also need to win those games in overtime during the playoffs. You can’t go 0-3 or 0-4 in overtime in the playoffs. So this is something we need to fix quickly. »
Jason Robertson, who scored a goal and an assist in Game 1 against the Golden Knights, believes the experience gained in the previous two series should help the Stars.
“I’m not going to say it’s going to be easy,” Robertson said. I’m sure the other team saw what we managed to do in the first two rounds, and we are able to respond in the right way. It’s only going to get harder and harder and we all have to give ourselves more. »
The Golden Knights have also experienced playoff adversity.
They started the first round with a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets and had a tough first period in Game 2. The Golden Knights, however, recovered well and beat the Jets in five games.
In the next series, the Edmonton Oilers scored first in the first five games, but the Golden Knights still won the series in six games.
The Golden Knights allowed the first goal of the game Friday as well, in addition to losing their lead twice in the third period.
“I think our players are able to forget those things and focus on the next game,” said team head coach Bruce Cassidy. A group of veterans should be able to do this. »
The Golden Knights haven’t always relied on stars like Jack Eichel and Mark Stone for success every night, and Friday’s game was a perfect example. Stone got an assist on the game-clinching goal, but other than that streak, he and Eichel were kept off the scoresheet.
The Golden Knights won with their defense and depth. This defense allowed them to register victories with five different goalkeepers. Adin Hill, who is 4-1 in the playoffs this year, replaced Laurent Brossoit, who was injured in Game 3 of the series against the Oilers.
The two teams will meet on Sunday in Las Vegas for the second game of the series.