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
May 23 Vegas 4, Dallas 0 81, 49, 28, 7 Hill Oettinger/Wedgewood
DATE OPPONENT TIME (PT) TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
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 3 Recap
May 23 – Vegas Golden Knights 4, Dallas Stars 0
Adin Hill stood tall with a 34-save shutout as the Vegas golden Knights blanked the Dallas Stars, 4-0, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. Vegas leads the series, 3-0. The Golden Knights came out hot as Jonathan Marchessault, Ivan Barbashev, and William Carrier each found the back of the net in the first eight minutes of the game to put the visitors on top, 3-0. Alex Pietrangelo potted his first goal of the playoffs midway through the second period to give Vegas a 4-0 lead. Hill stopped all 14 shots he saw in the third period as the Golden Knights took a stranglehold 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.
Playoff History with Dallas
Western Conference Final 2020 (1-4)
- Sep. 6 vs. DAL – Vegas 0, Dallas 1
- Sep. 8 vs. DAL – Vegas 3, Dallas 0
- Sep. 8 vs. DAL – Vegas 2, Dallas 3 OT
- Sep. 12 vs. DAL – Vegas 1, Dallas 2
- Sep. 14 vs DAL – Vegas 2, Dallas 3 OT
Magic Number
Vegas is 43-3 all-time when scoring at least three goals in the playoffs, including wins in each of the last 31 such instances. In all three losses this postseason, the Golden Knights have been held to a single goal.
In the Winning Business
Vegas (49-31 in 80 GP) has a postseason winning percentage of .613, leading all NHL franchises. The Golden Knights’ 49 playoff wins are the second-most in the NHL since 2017-18, trailing only Tampa Bay’s 98 victories.
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.
Comeback Kids
The Golden Knights led the league with 11 third-period comeback wins in the regular season. Vegas outscored its opponents 87-81 in the third period, won eight in overtime, five in a shootout and had a .292 win-percentage when trailing after the second period (second in NHL).
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 Vegas 4, Dallas 0
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
May 6 – Signed defenseman Lian Bichsel to a three-year entry-level contract
May 25 – Recalled forwards Mavrik Bourque and Rhett Gardner from Texas (AHL)
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 23, 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
Game 3: May 25, 2023 – STARS 0 vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4 | Vegas leads series 3-0
The Stars suffered their third defeat of the series with a 4-0 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 3 at American Airlines Center. Dallas outshot Vegas 34-16 but were shutout for the first time in the playoffs (16 GP). Jake Oettinger made his 16th start of the postseason but was pulled 7:10 into the first period (three saves on five shots). Scott Wedgewood came on in relief for the remainder of the game and made 10 saves on 11 shots. Defenseman Jani Hakanpää made his series debut, recording four hits, two shots and two blocked shots in 18:36 TOI. Forward Radek Faksa went 77% in the faceoff dot, winning 10 of 13 draws.
PP: 0-2 | PK: 5-6 | SF: 34 | SA: 16 | DAL TOI: E. Lindell (22:16 – game high) | Attendance: 18,532
Three Stars: 1. VGK – A. Hill 2. VGK – I. Barbashev 3. VGK – A. Pietrangelo
DALLAS STARS POSTSEASON NOTES
TONIGHT’S GAME: With their backs against the wall, the Stars look to claw their way back into the series in Game 4 tonight at American Airlines Center. (ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS, Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). The Stars enter tonight’s matchup with a 5-3 record at home in the playoffs. Should Dallas win, Game 5 will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 27 (7 p.m. CT). 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).
