VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:
2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS – VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. DALLAS STARS
Golden Knights 2022-23 Regular Season Record: 51-22-9, 111 points (25-15-1 at Home, 26-7-8 on Road)
DATE RESULT VGK GOALS VGK GOALIE DAL GOALIE
May 19 Vegas 4, Dallas 3 OT 71(2), 53, 21 Hill Oettinger
May 21 Vegas 3, Dallas 2 OT 61, 81, 20 Hill Oettinger
DATE OPPONENT TIME (PT) TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
May 23 at Dallas Stars 5 p.m. ESPN Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
May 25 at Dallas Stars 5 p.m. ESPN Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
May 27* vs. Dallas Stars 5 p.m. ABC Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
May 29* at Dallas Stars 5 p.m. ESPN Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
May 31* vs. Dallas Stars 6 p.m. ESPN Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
*If Necessary
Game 2 Recap
May 21 – Vegas Golden Knights 3, Dallas Stars 2 OT
Chandler Stephenson’s goal at 1:12 of overtime was the difference as the Vegas Golden Knights earned a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas leads the series, 2-0. Miro Heiskanen got the Stars on the board less than three minutes into the contest, but Mark Stone’s powerplay goal midway through the frame brought the game back to even. Jason Robertson had the only goal in the middle frame as Dallas carried a 2-1 lead into the third period. Jonathan Marchessault buried a no-look pass from Jack Eichel at 17:38 of the final stanza to send the game to overtime. Less than two minutes into the extra session, Stephenson tracked down a Shea Theodore rebound and buried it to give the Golden Knights the 2-0 lead in the series.
VGK/DAL – Regular Season Recap
The Golden Knights held a 0-1-2 record against the Stars in the 2022-23 regular season. In the first matchup, Vegas was shut out, 4-0, by Jake Oettinger. In the second contest, Michael Amadio and Jack Eichel each scored to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 advantage, until Roope Hintz scored in the final 38 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime. After a scoreless extra session, it was Jason Robertson and Hintz who each put pucks past Laurent Brossoit to secure the comeback win in the shootout. In the final meeting of the season, Brett Howden got Vegas on the board first, but Joel Kiviranta tied things up for Dallas and forced overtime. Neither team was able to finish things in the extra session and it was Hintz who was the shootout hero again.
2022-23 Season DAL Series: 0-1-2 (Home: 0-1-1, Road: 0-0-1)
Comeback Season
The Golden Knights completed their eighth comeback win of the postseason on Sunday and became the sixth team in NHL playoff history to do so in four straight games. Vegas has allowed the first goal in 10 of their 13 playoff games this year and holds a record of 7-3 after allowing the first goal in the game. Vegas’ three games scoring first are the fewest among the final four teams in the 2023 playoffs.
Overtime Experts
Vegas has won back-to-back overtime games against Dallas in the Western Conference Final to improve to 3-0 this postseason when going past regulation. In their consecutive victories, the Golden Knights have scored the game-winning goal within the first two minutes of overtime, becoming the fourth team in NHL history to do so. Sunday’s overtime was also the fourth time in franchise history that Vegas has closed out an overtime game in the first two minutes, the most of all teams in the NHL since their inaugural season in 2017-18.
Magic Number
Vegas is 42-3 all-time when scoring at least three goals in the playoffs, including wins in each of the last 30 such instances. In all three losses this postseason, the Golden Knights have been held to a single goal.
In the Winning Business
Vegas (48-31 in 79 GP) has a postseason winning percentage of .608, leading all NHL franchises. The Golden Knights’ 48 playoff wins are the second-most in the NHL since 2017-18, trailing only Tampa Bay’s 98 victories.
Rulers of the Realm
For the third time in six seasons, the Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division (2017-18, 2019-20 previously) and entered the postseason as the number one seed in the Western Conference for the first time.
DALLAS STARS NOTES:
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Time (CT) DAL [C2] vs. VGK [P1] Location TV/Radio/Result
Game 1 Fri, May 19 7:30 p.m. Dallas at Vegas T-Mobile Arena Vegas 4, Stars 3 (OT)
Game 2 Sun, May 21 2 p.m. Dallas at Vegas T-Mobile Arena Vegas 3, Dallas 2 (OT)
Game 3 Tue, May 23 7 p.m. Vegas at Dallas American Airlines Center ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 4 Thu, May 25 7 p.m. Vegas at Dallas American Airlines Center ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 5 * Sat, May 27 7 p.m. Dallas at Vegas T-Mobile Arena ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 6 * Mon, May 29 7 p.m. Vegas at Dallas American Airlines Center ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 7 * Wed, May 31 8 p.m. Dallas at Vegas T-Mobile Arena ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
- if necessary
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
April 3 – Recalled defenseman Thomas Harley from Texas (AHL)
April 19 – Recalled forward Riley Tufte from Texas (AHL)
April 26 – Loaned forward Riley Tufte to Texas (AHL)
May 6 – Signed defenseman Lian Bichsel to a three-year entry-level contract
HOW THE STARS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS SERIES HAS UNFOLDED
Game 1: May 19, 2023 – STARS 3 at GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4 (OT) | Vegas leads series 1-0
Despite a game-tying marker at the 58:01 mark of the third period from captain Jamie Benn (1-0—1), the Stars fell 4-3 in overtime on a goal from Vegas forward Brett Howden just 1:35 into sudden death. Dallas opened the scoring on a goal from forward Jason Robertson, who finished the game with a multi-point performance (1-1—2). Forward Roope Hintz continued his torrid pace in the playoffs, leading all skaters with three points (1-2—3). Forward Joe Pavelski added two assists (0-2—2), while goaltender Jake Oettinger stopped 33 of 37 shots.
PP: 0-2 | PK: 1-1 | SF: 36 | SA: 37 | DAL TOI: M. Heiskanen (29:23 – game high) | Attendance: 18,271
Three Stars: 1. VGK – B. Howden 2. VGK – W. Karlsson 3. DAL – J. Benn
Game 2: May 21, 2023 – STARS 2 at GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3 (OT) | Vegas leads series 2-0
The Stars opened the scoring and held a one-goal lead in the final minutes of regulation but fell in overtime for the second consecutive game. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen (1-0—1) tallied his first goal of the playoffs at the 2:47 mark of the opening frame and forward Jason Robertson (1-0—1) scored his second goal in as many games with a power-play tally midway through the middle frame. Defenseman Ryan Suter (0-2—2) assisted on both goals, while forwards Luke Glendening (0-1—1) and Evgenii Dadonov (0-1—1) added helpers. Goaltender Jake Oettinger made 21 saves on 24 shots.
PP: 1-3 | PK: 1-2 | SF: 28 | SA: 24 | DAL TOI: M. Heiskanen (28:19 – game high) | Attendance: 18,358
Three Stars: 1. VGK – C. Stephenson 2. VGK – J. Marchessault 3. VGK – M. Stone
DALLAS STARS POSTSEASON NOTES
TONIGHT’S GAME: The margin for error shrinks as the Stars look to dig themselves out of a 2-0 series deficit tonight in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. (ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS, Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). The Stars are back on home ice for the next two games and most recently earned a do-or-die victory in Game 7 of the Second Round vs. Seattle at American Airlines Center. This represents a rematch of the 2020 Western Conference Final, where the Stars earned a 4-1 series win en route to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years.
STARS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS PLAYOFF HISTORY
- This marks the second all-time meeting between the Stars and Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The previous matchup between the two clubs was in the 2020 Conference Finals, a series won in five games by Dallas, which saw the first instance in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) of a Conference Finals or Semifinals series opening with each team earning a shutout within the first two contests.
- The Western Conference Final represents the fourth instance in the past 25 years of head coaches, both in their first season with a team, meeting in the penultimate round of the playoffs. The last occurrence was also between Dallas and Vegas in 2020 (DAL: Rick Bowness; VGK: Pete DeBoer). The others: 2010 (PHI: Peter Laviolette; MTL: Jacques Martin) and 1998 (WSH: Ron Wilson; BUF: Lindy Ruff).
- This is the southernmost final four in Stanley Cup Playoffs history (VGK: +36.1, CAR: +35.8, DAL: +32.7 & FLA: +26.1). The previous benchmark was in 2016 (PIT: +40.4, STL: +38.6, SJS: +37.3 & TBL: +27.9)
STARS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2022-23 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES IN REVIEW
Jan. 16, 2023 – STARS 4 at GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0
Delivering one of their strongest performances of the season, the Stars opened their three-game road trip with a resounding 4-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Monday. Not only did it snap a two-game losing streak, but Dallas managed to give Vegas its first shutout loss of the season (45 GP). Goaltender Jake Oettinger stopped all 27 shots for his third shutout of the season and improved his record overall to 20-6-4. Forward Ty Dellandrea (0-2—2) picked up his second multi-point game of the season (third of his career) with two assists. Captain Jamie Benn (1-0—1) opened the scoring with his 17th goal of the season on a night he took over sole possession of second place all-time in games played (993) in franchise history. Forward Joel Kiviranta (1-0—1) tallied his sixth goal of the season, defenseman Ryan Suter (1-0—1) registered his first goal of the season and forward Tyler Seguin (1-0—1) extended his goal streak to three consecutive games and point streak to four in a row (3-2—5). Defensemen Miro Heiskanen (0-1—1) and Nils Lundkvist (0-1—1) added assists, as did forwards Joe Pavelski (0-1—1) and Fredrik Olofsson (0-1—1). The Stars also dished out 33 hits (four of which from Pavelski – team high), registered 15 blocked shots (four from Luke Glendening – team high) and won 55% of the faceoffs.
PP: 0-2 | PK: 2-2 | SF: 36 | SA: 27 | DAL TOI: Heiskanen (24:55) | Attendance: 17,895
Three Stars: 1. DAL – J. Benn 2. DAL – J. Oettinger 3. DAL – J. Kiviranta
Feb. 25, 2023 – STARS 3 at GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2 (shootout)
The Stars snapped a five-game losing skid (0-2-3) with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Down by a goal late in regulation, Dallas staged a dramatic comeback when forward Roope Hintz (1-0—1) scored the game-tying marker with just 37 seconds left on the clock. Jason Robertson (0-1—1) opened the shootout with a goal and Hintz scored the game-deciding tally to lift the Stars to their second consecutive victory in Vegas (also 4-0 on Jan. 16). Rookie forward Wyatt Johnston (1-0—1) tallied his 14th goal of the season while forward Ty Dellandrea (0-1—1) picked up his 14th assist of the 2022-23 campaign. Captain Jamie Benn (0-2—2) led the squad with two assists and goaltender Jake Oettinger turned aside 41 of 43 shots (and all three in the shootout) in an epic goaltending duel with Golden Knights netminder Laurent Brossoit (41 of 43).
PP: 0-4 | PK: 2-2 | SF: 43 | SA: 43 | DAL TOI: Heiskanen (27:57 – game high) | Attendance: 17,906
Three Stars: 1. DAL– J. Oettinger 2. VGK – L. Brossoit 3. VGK – J. Eichel
April 8, 2023 – STARS 2 vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1 (shootout)
The Stars extended their winning streak to three games and swept the three-game season series against the Golden Knights with a 2-1 shootout victory in front of a sellout crowd of 18,532 at American Airlines Center. Forward Joel Kiviranta (1-0—1) scored with the equalizer in the second period with his eighth goal of the season, forward Roope Hintz tallied the lone goal in the shootout and goaltender Jake Oettinger made 19 saves and all three in the shootout to seal the win for Dallas. The Stars went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, dished out 29 hits and won 56% of the faceoffs.
PP: 0-2 | PK: 2-2 | SF: 25 | SA: 20 | DAL TOI: M. Heiskanen (29:42 – game high) | Attendance: 18,532 (sellout)
Three Stars: 1. DAL – J. Oettinger 2. VGK – J. Quick 3. DAL – J. Kiviranta
