the Vegas Golden Knights They are one-time Stanley Cup champions yet Dallas Stars Expel them 2-1 pm Sunday.
The big difference in Game 7: Vegas’ Jack Eichel missed a great opportunity with 13 seconds left in the second period when his backhand shot went past an open net and Radek Vaska connected with a backhand shot 44 seconds into the third period.
Eichel looked skyward after his shot hit the Stars’ outer net. Faksa, who returned to the lineup after injury, took a pass in the faceoff circle after the Stars’ fourth line turned the ball over. His shot beat Vegas goaltender Aden Hill.
“It was the biggest goal of my career,” he told the TNT studio crew after the game. “After every pre-game skate, I play hockey with my son and I promised him I would score a goal tonight and I’m glad I did. I’m so excited to show him the video of the goal in the morning.”
Stars coach Peter DeBoer improved to 8-0 behind the bench in Game 7 as Dallas played a nearly perfect defensive game. The Stars held Vegas to 23 shots, blocked 24, and outscored the Golden Knights 49-37. Defenseman Chris Tanev, acquired at the trade deadline, had five blocked shots and five hits.
The only shot to get past Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger was when Brett Howden deflected in Michael Amadio’s pass off a rush in the second period. Which resulted in the match being tied 1-1.
Dallas’ Wyatt Johnson scored the opening goal after a Golden Knights turnover in the first half.
The Golden Knights beat the Stars in the Western Conference Final last season en route to the Stanley Cup title. Dallas had home-ice advantage in this year’s series as the top seed in the Western Conference while Vegas fell to second place due to injuries.
The Stars lost the first two games at home, but qualified after winning four of the last five games in the series, including Games 3-5.
“Going up 2-0, it was good to find a way to win one of those three games there,” Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo told reporters. “They made some adjustments, and I don’t think we adapted well enough straight away. But that’s on us as players to find a way, after being 2-0 up, to get the job done.”
What’s next for the Dallas Stars?
They head to the second round to face the Colorado Avalanche. They will have home ice advantage in this series as well.
Colorado posted a 3-1 record versus the Stars in the regular season with the Avalanche winning one of the games in overtime. Oettinger didn’t have a strong series, going 1-2 with a 4.74 goals-against average and .863 save percentage.
What’s next for the Vegas Golden Knights?
They won the trade deadline and signed key acquisitions Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl long-term. But their list of unrestricted free agents is long, including 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, and trade deadline acquisitions Anthony Mantha, Amadeo, William Carrier, and Alec Martinez. Management has some tough decisions to make.
“It’s an unfortunate part of the job. But there’s a lot of good people here. Obviously we’d like to keep everyone together if we can,” Pietrangelo said.
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