After the Florida Panthers outlasted the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night in a four-overtime thriller to open the Eastern Conference Final, the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars kicked off the Western Conference Final with yet another Game 1 overtime on Friday night. Dallas lost in overtime to start a series for a third time this postseason as Brett Howden scored a minute and 35 seconds into the OT period to lift Vegas to victory on its home ice.
The Stars had opened the scoring near the end of the first period off a tip-in by Jason Robertson off an assist from Roope Hintz. The Knights evened the game at 9:17 of the second period off a wrister from William Karlsson, who then gave Vegas the lead at 1:19 into the third period before a snap shot by Hintz tied it up for Dallas, setting the stage in overtime for Howden's heroics.
The Golden Knights earned the top seed in the Western Conference with a strong regular season, and they only needed five games to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. Against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, Vegas managed to limit one of the league's most high-powered offenses at five-on-five, and took the series in six games.
Jack Eichel, in his first postseason appearance, has more than lived up to expectations. He leads the Golden Knights in goals (6), assists (8), and points (14). Eichel is an early contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy, and another great series against a stingy Stars defense will get him one step closer to the award.
In their first round series against the Minnesota Wild, the Stars fell behind 2-1 before taking over and winning the last three games. Last round, Dallas got all it could handle from the Seattle Kraken, who pushed the series to seven games. A couple of shaky outings from Jake Oettinger gave the Kraken some life, but the Stars completely controlled the decisive Game 7.
Throughout this playoff run, Roope Hintz has established himself as one of the best young players in the league. He is second among all postseason scorers with 19 points, just one behind Connor McDavid, who has now been eliminated. Alongside Hintz is Joe Pavelski, who has scored eight goals in eight games at the age of 38. That duo was the bane of Seattle's existence last round.
Here is how to keep up with the schedule and results from the Western Conference Final.
*if necessary
Game 1: Golden Knights 4, Stars 3 (OT)
The Golden Knights took care of business in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, beating the visiting Stars 4-3 in overtime thanks to a two-goal performance from William Karlsson and a game-winner from Brett Howden.
Dallas opened the scoring via a Jason Robertson goal with just over a minute remaining in the first period, but it was all Vegas from then. Karlsson scored the game's next two goals to give Vegas its first lead, and after Dallas' Roope Hintz scored a game-tier at 4:01 of the third, Teddy Blueger swung it back in Vegas' favor with a goal of his own at the 9:20 mark.
But just when it looked like Dallas was done, Jamie Benn scored a game-tying goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to send it to overtime. Overtime, however, was a quick affair as Howden scored the game-winner by banking the puck off Stars goalie Jake Oettinger at 1:35 of the extra period. The Golden Knights are now 2-0 in overtime games this postseason, while the Stars are 0-3.
Vegas' victory spoiled the return of Stars coach Pete DeBoer, who was fired by the Golden Knights after coaching the team the last three seasons. DeBoer will hope for redemption in Game 2 as the series will stick in Vegas.
