Stars in 2-0 series hole again after Game 2 loss to Knights

DALLAS — For a second straight postseason, the Dallas Stars will probably be tasked with making an attempt to climb out of a 2-0 first-round series hole in opposition to the Vegas Golden Knights.

A 3-1 loss Wednesday in a Western Conference quarterfinal sport on the American Airlines Center left the Stars trying to find solutions in opposition to a staff they’ve failed to beat in six straight video games and in 9 of their previous 11 regular-season and playoff video games.

“I think we had our chances, played good enough to win again,” Stars ahead Tyler Seguin stated. “We just didn’t do it.”

One of the challenges the Stars have confronted in their current encounters in opposition to the Golden Knights was falling behind early. It occurred again in Game 1 on Monday when the Golden Knights scored the primary two objectives to arrange what was an eventual 4-3 victory.

Game 2 noticed the Stars rating the primary aim in opposition to the Golden Knights for the primary time since Game 2 of the Western Conference finals final season.

Stars ahead Jason Robertson scored a power-play aim with 3:13 left in the primary interval. But the lead lasted lower than two minutes when reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault tied the rating with 1:51 remaining.

From there, it was about what staff might discover a agency sufficient grasp to take management of a sport that continuously felt out of attain.

Dallas felt that frustration in the second interval when Wyatt Johnston received a puck battle that allowed him to play a fast go to Logan Stankoven, who then delivered a back-door go to Robertson, solely to have Robertson’s shot step by step rise over a gaping internet.

Vegas felt that very same frustration as effectively. There was a 4-on-4 in the second interval that noticed Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo fireplace off three photographs in eight seconds that had been all stopped by a sprawling Jake Oettinger.

“I mean, that’s hockey. It goes both ways,” stated Robertson, who completed with a aim and two photographs whereas logging 20:22 in ice time. (*2*)

The Golden Knights took management when Nicolas Roy created visitors on the internet entrance. He threw a shot on internet that was deflected however made its approach to Noah Hanifin, with the defenseman launching a wrist shot that went over Oettinger’s glove for a 2-1 lead with 1:07 left in the second.

Even with a 58.5% shot share, the Stars mustered solely 5 photographs on internet in the third interval and two high-danger scoring possibilities. Stars coach Peter DeBoer pulled Oettinger with 1:51 remaining to get an extra-skater benefit.

It’s simply that the Stars might by no means actually get settled in the Golden Knights’ zone. That led to the Golden Knights clearing the puck earlier than Eichel scored an empty-net aim with 33 seconds left that gave the Golden Knights a 3-1 lead and a 2-0 series benefit.

“I loved our first period, and we made one mistake at the end of the first. … You come out of the first with nothing to show for it,” DeBoer stated. “I think that was probably a momentum swing. Then, we gotta find a way to score 5-on-5. We generated some chances. You’re not going to get a ton against them just like we’re not going to give up a bunch.”

Last season noticed the Golden Knights take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals earlier than the Stars rallied to pressure Game 6. The Golden Knights closed out the series with an emphatic 6-0 win earlier than advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals, the place they beat the Florida Panthers in 5 video games.

Reaching the convention finals additional cemented the argument that the Stars had been in a championship window. They used the offseason to strengthen their roster by signing one other top-nine ahead in Matt Duchene whereas protecting a lot of their roster intact.

They used the commerce deadline to add defenseman Chris Tanev, which bolstered a staff that may go on to win 52 video games and end second behind the New York Rangers in the Presidents’ Trophy race with 113 factors.

Winning the Central and having one of the best document in the Western Conference set the stage for the Stars to grow to be the highest seed in the West. But it additionally meant their championship aspirations would current one other encounter with the Golden Knights.

After dropping the primary two video games, DeBoer was requested if it felt just like the Golden Knights have the Stars found out.

“They’re the Stanley Cup champions. They’ve got everyone figured out,” DeBoer stated. “They figured out everyone last year, too, right? We’re not alone in that boat.”

Although they misplaced in the convention finals, the Stars’ first two defeats of the series had been determined in time beyond regulation. A 12 months later, they discover themselves in one other 2-0 series deficit that is as soon as again been outlined by the tightest of margins.

Is there something DeBoer feels the Stars discovered from final 12 months’s convention finals that might probably assist this 12 months?

“I thought last year, they probably carried the play even though we found a way to scratch out some wins,” DeBoer stated. “I don’t think that’s the case this year. It doesn’t feel that way, anyway. It feels a lot more evenly matched.”