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Stars Fall to Golden Knights 5-3 and Drop Third Straight

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The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Nashville Predators on Friday evening, then waltzed into Dallas to dispatch the Stars 5-3 on the second night of a back-to back. Maxime Lagace, who formerly spent significant time developing in the Stars’s farm system, got the start in the crease for the Golden Knights and finished with 36 saves on 39 shots. He was busy all game, particularly against the re-worked second line for the Stars. Alexander Radulov was slotted next to Jason Spezza and Mattias Janmark, and it yielded intriguing results. Each of the top three lines scored a goal for the Stars.

In the middle of the first period, they had an extended shift in the offensive zone that set up quality chances for both Janmark and Radulov. Early in the third period, that line generated another golden opportunity with a scramble in front of the net. Antoine Roussel was back in the lineup after a bout with the flu and had one shot from the slot that nicked the post and another on a 3-on-1.

The Stars answered two goals from the Golden Knights in quick succession. Tyler Pitlick had an answer for Alex Tuch’s first period goal, benefitting from a scramble in front of the net set up by Radek Faksa. Spezza answered David Perron’s power play goal in the second period within 30 seconds as Mattias Janmark found him pinching down from the slot for a one timer. The second period in particular saw a frenzy of scoring with four goals scored within three minutes as the Golden Knights started to pull away with goals from Reilly Smith and Brayden McNabb.

Jamie Benn pulled the Stars within one goal in the middle of the third period to temporarily pull his goal scoring out of a nine game funk. On the third power play for the Stars late in the game, Devin Shore laid out at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone, which set up another scramble that had Lagace standing on his head. Once again, Lagace frustrated the Stars. The Dallas special teams units continued their troubling trend as they finished 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Play of the Game

Pick any sequence you want, but Maxime Lagace took everything the Stars were able to throw at him and had at least seven or eight situations when he had to buckle down. Late in the game, the Stars had their third power play and a chance to tie the game. The Stars created a scramble, which ended with Tyler Seguin being stonewalled on a desperation backhand.

The Upset Three Stars of the Game

1. Maxime Lagace (36 saves on 39 shots) – If not for Lagace, the Stars should’ve scored six or seven goals. It was an impressive showing for the former member of the Stars organization as he thwarted multiple quality chances from Dallas and generally stood on his head.

2. David Perron  (1 PPG, 1 A) – Perron had the lone power play goal on a penalty that he drew and was an irritant for the Stars all night, as former Ducks usually are.

3. Jason Spezza (1 G, 3 SOG) – Spezza had a big answer against the Golden Knights on his screaming one timer from the slot that gave Dallas belief that they could manufacture a win. Spezza’s line was also responsible for most of the danger that Lagace had to face.

The Goals

First Period

12:13 The Golden Knights forced a turnover behind the Stars’s net. The Stars overcommitted in pursuit and the puck was centered to Alex Tuch who picked a corner on Ben Bishop. Former Star Cody Eakin and Brendan Leipsic had the hard forechecks and the assists. Stars 0, Golden Knights 1

14:28 Alexander Radulov was leaving the ice as he directed a puck into the offensive zone. Radek Faksa came in on the forecheck behind the net and centered to to the front to create a scrum that had Maxime Lagace scrambling. Antoine Roussel had a chance that was denied, but Tyler Pitlick cleaned up the rebound for his third goal of the season. Stars 1, Golden Knights 1

Second Period

4:58 David Perron drew a holding penalty on John Klingberg and scored on the ensuing power play. He won a 1-on-1 battle against Tyler Seguin in the slot for an impressive finish to put his team up by one. Stars 1, Golden Knights 2

5:25 John Klingberg passed to Mattias Janmark deep in the offensive zone. Janmark spotted Jason Spezza trickling in from the high slot and fed him a perfect pass to help Spezza score his fifth goal of the season on a one timer. Stars 2, Golden Knights 2

6:10 Jamie Oleksiak and Stephen Johns had an awkward exchange behind their own blue line which resulted in a turnover. Jonathan Marchessault stole the puck and threw it to the front of the net where Reilly Smith was waiting to clean it up. Stars 2, Golden Knights 3

8:35 The Golden Knights drew a delayed penalty call on Alexander Radulov and created an odd man rush. Brendan Leipsic found Brayden McNabb trailing in the slot and McNabb beat Ben Bishop to put the Golden Knights up by two. Stars 2, Golden Knights 4

Third Period

4:16 On the rush, Jamie Benn used Deryk Engelland as a screen and fired a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Maxime Lagace high short side. Tyler Seguin had the primary assist. Stars 3, Golden Knights 4

19:17 Erik Haula scored an empty net goal off a pass from David Perron with less than a minute left in the game to send the Stars fans heading for the exits. Stars 3, Golden Knights 5

Golden Knights lineup
Jonathan Marchessault — William Karlsson — Reilly Smith
David Perron — Erik Haula — James Neal
Brendan Leipsic — Cody Eakin — Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Stefan Matteau

Luca Sbisa — Nate Schmidt
Shea Theodore — Deryk Engelland
Colin Miller — Brayden McNabb

Maxime Lagace
Malcom Subban

Scratched: Jon Merrill, Oscar Lindberg

Injured: Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion), Oscar Dansk (lower body), William Carrier (lower body)

Stars lineup
Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Devin Shore
Mattias Janmark — Jason Spezza — Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel — Radek Faksa — Tyler Pitlick
Remi Elie — Gemel Smith — Brett Ritchie

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis — Greg Pateryn
Jamie Oleksiak — Stephen Johns

Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen

Scratched: Julius Honka

Injured: Marc Methot (knee), Martin Hanzal (hamstring)

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