Jason Robertson scored a goal while the Dallas Stars were on a power play, shortly after Tyler Seguin got hit in the face by a puck. Jake Oettinger, the goalie for the Stars, had another strong game, helping the team secure their first home win in the NHL playoffs.
Robertson’s goal, which came late in the second period, gave the Stars the lead, and they held on to win 3-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 on Wednesday night. This victory puts them ahead in the series, after losing the first four games.
“We’ve shown great resilience throughout this series. It’s impressive how we’ve fought back,” said Wyatt Johnston, a 20-year-old forward who contributed two assists.
Evgenii Dadonov and Matt Duchene also scored for the Stars, who have now won three games in a row after losing the first two games at home last week, despite being the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
“I’m really proud of our team. There weren’t many people believing in us when we were down. We went on the road, faced a tough challenge, and worked hard.
Now, six days later, we’re leading 3-2 and have a chance to close out the series against the Stanley Cup champions,” commented Stars coach Pete DeBoer.
Seguin got injured when Alex Pietrangelo accidentally hit him in the face with his stick. Although initially called a five-minute major penalty, it was later changed to a minor penalty after a replay review.
However, it was a significant blow for the Knights. Robertson scored his third goal of the series after he got the rebound from his own shot and managed to score despite traffic in front of the net and Adin Hill, who was starting as the goalie for the Knights in this game.
Pietrangelo’s hit on Seguin seemed like a response to Seguin’s earlier penalty for an illegal check to the head of Shea Theodore in the second period. This penalty was also initially called a major but was downgraded after a replay review.
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy criticized Pietrangelo for his actions, noting that as a veteran player, he should have known better. However, Cassidy also acknowledged that his team was unhappy about the hit on Theodore, emphasizing the intensity of playoff hockey and the need to channel emotions appropriately.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger made 25 saves, including a remarkable split save to stop Chandler Stephenson’s breakaway with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the game.
“I was on the ice watching that breakaway and said a prayer, but I should have just trusted in Jake,” Seguin remarked. “Jake can double-up his game to another level, especially in crucial moments of the game,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “We saw it tonight in the third period, just like we did in the previous game.”
In the third period alone, Oettinger made 11 saves and has successfully stopped all 55 shots he faced in the third period or overtime throughout the series.
Hill made 22 saves in this game after Logan Thompson started the first four games. Mark Stone and William Carrier scored the goals for Vegas. Game 6 will be on Friday night in Las Vegas. In Game 3, the Stars won 3-2 in overtime, followed by a 4-2 victory in Game 4.
Last year in the Western Conference Final, Vegas led the series against the Stars, winning the first three games before eventually clinching it in six games.
Duchene scored on a power play to give Dallas a 2-1 lead after a tripping penalty against Carrier. Seguin’s shot bounced off Hill’s upper body, then Johnston redirected the puck off a Vegas defender before Duchene stuffed it in.
Knights captain Stone scored a power-play goal four minutes into the game, putting Vegas up 1-0. Dadonov quickly equalized for the Stars just a minute later with a pass from rookie Logan Stankoven.
Carrier tied the game 2-2 with a goal despite being hit by Lindell. Later, Howden’s shot narrowly missed giving Vegas the lead.
Thompson and Hill had been sharing starts during the regular season. Thompson has a .921 save percentage and allowed 2.35 goals per game in this series, while Hill had an 11-4 record in the playoffs last season after taking over for injured Laurent Brossoit.
