FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Stars - Game 7

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Stars – Game 7

Franchise Sports Media

 

The Knights won their second game in a row with a 3-2 overtime win against the Stars Wednesday night in Dallas.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights are officially on a winning streak. The victory came one night after Vegas’ gutsy performance against the Avalanche, a 3-1 win.

After losing four straight, the Knights won both games in this back-to-back set on the road and are now just one game below .500 (3-4-0). In his first start as a member of the Golden Knights, Laurent Brossoit stole the show. He was the star of the night, making 32 saves on 34 shots for a .941 save percentage.; the only two that got past him were deflected.

He had to be great, and he was.

For much of the game, Dallas was all over Vegas, and the Golden Knights didn’t do themselves any favors by failing to generate chances, turning the puck over, and struggling on zone exits. But Brossoit kept them in it until the end. With the net empty, Jonathan Marchessault tied the game at 2-2 with just 1:02 remaining in regulation, and Evgenii Dadonov scored the game-winner 1:59 into overtime.

It was a tough night for Vegas, but it was the kind of turn of events that can energize a team and turn a season around. Brossoit’s performance was all the more remarkable given how poorly his teammates played in front of him.

The first period was incredibly lopsided, and it took Dallas just 2:20 to get on the board. A point shot off the stick of defenseman Miro Heiskanen deflected off of Dylan Coghlan’s skate and into the net. It grazed the stick of Luke Glendening, who was credited with the goal, but it was an unlucky bounce for Brossoit.

Vegas returned the favor quickly, however. Just 1:27 later, Shea Theodore intercepted an attempted clear and “fired” the puck toward the net (or tried to, at least). But the weak shot hit the skate of Stars defenseman Esa Lindell before finding twine.

Theodore reunited with defense partner Alec Martinez, who was back in action after missing three games with an injury. Mattias Janmark, who was not on the bench for the third period of Tuesday’s game in Colorado, did not play and is out with an upper-body injury.

This forced the Knights to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, so former forward-turned-defenseman Daniil Miromanov found himself lining up at right wing on the fourth line. He played just 4:30, however, as Pete DeBoer shortened his bench for the second game in a row.

Though the game was tied at 1-1 after 20 minutes, it was a brutal opening frame for the Knights. Vegas was outshot 15-5 and out-chanced 19-4 (at 5-on-5). Brossoit was the difference. He made 14 saves, including several grade-A chances. He made a key stop on Roope Hintz to keep it tied early, and he made a big stop on Lindell, who found himself alone in the slot.

 

But things went from bad to worse in the second, as the Knights lost yet another player to injury.

 

After blocking a shot, William Carrier stayed down on the ice, which appeared to hit him in or around his left knee. He had to be helped to the locker room and couldn’t put any weight on his leg; he did not return.

The Knights have been plagued by injuries this season; Carrier makes it seven injured players in seven games: Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Zach Whitecloud, Martinez, Nolan Patrick, Janmark, and now Carrier.

Down to 10 forwards, the Knights continued to struggle for most of the second. In fact, Vegas had just one shot (and six total) through the first 12 minutes. Hintz had another close call when he hit the crossbar early on. However, Dallas eventually broke through just under seven minutes in, grabbing its second lead of the game.

Brossoit had no chance on the deflection goal by Alexander Radulov, who parked himself in front of Brossoit and tipped a shot by Jani Hakanpää. The Knights looked exhausted for much of the frame but seemed to find another gear late in the period. They started to pressure the Stars with extended shifts in the offensive zone and ultimately evened the shot count at 7-7. The burst of energy resulted in a power play with less than five minutes in the frame, but Vegas extended its streak to 0-for-15 on the year.

Miraculously, the Knights were completely outplayed through 40 minutes but trailed by just one going into the third.

Brossoit made one of his two biggest saves of the game just under five minutes in as he robbed Radulov on a breakaway. At that point, Dallas held a 27-13 edge in shots, and a two-goal deficit likely would have put the game out of reach.

DeBoer experimented with some new combinations, including a new-look line of Marchessault, Dadonov, and Chandler Stephenson, and the Knights seemed to gain confidence as time wore on. Theodore even tried to go coast-to-coast at one point but was shut down by Anton Khudobin.

The Knights weren’t getting great chances on net but were moving the puck well and starting to heat up. It took 18 minutes and 58 seconds, but eventually, that momentum clicked. With the extra attacker on, Marchessault scored on a one-timer off a feed from Theodore with just over one minute left in the third. It was a thrilling equalizer, but the Knights almost blew the game anyway.

 

In the final minute of regulation, Brossoit came up with his biggest save of the night as he robbed Glendening. He was rewarded just under two minutes into extra time.

 

Nicolas Roy won a battle in the corner and got the puck to Dadonov, who spun around in the slot and fired one past Khudobin to seal it. It was Dadonov’s second goal in as many nights, though his first true goal as a Golden Knight, and it proved to be incredibly clutch. This season, the Knights are now 1-0 in overtime after going a perfect 9-0 last year.

 

The Knights return home to T-Mobile Arena to take on the Ducks on Friday night. The puck drops at 5:00 and can be seen on AT&T SportsNet.