Jack Eichel and defending Stanley Cup champions the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday beat the Dallas Stars to take a 2-0 lead in their NHL first-round playoff series.
The Golden Knights got exactly what they anticipated and withstood that early hard push in Game 2 by the desperate Stars.
The Golden Knights did not settle for a split while starting the series on the road.
Photo: AFP
“We expected them to come out and push hard that first 5, 10 minutes and they did,” Eichel said. “We responded. We were able to come in here after the first period and it’s all tied... They gave us all we could handle.”
Eichel assisted on the tying goal by Jonathan Marchessault late in the first period before adding an empty-netter late. Noah Hanifin scored the tiebreaker with unassisted goal late in the second period.
Game 3 is to be played tomorrow in Las Vegas.
Photo: John E. Sokolowski-USA Today
“We’re in a good spot, but there’s still a lot of hockey left to be played,” Hanifin said. “We’re happy to get back into our building and have that momentum on our side... Just got to keep doing what we’re doing, chipping away at it and play our game.”
Logan Thompson had 20 saves in his second career playoff start, although Dallas did not get a shot to him in the final 5 minutes, 37 seconds of the game.
In the Western Conference Final in May last year, the Knights were the top seed when winning the first three games against Dallas and taking the series in six games.
After falling 4-3 in the opener of this first-round series, the Stars came out intent on setting a hard-hitting tone before the series shifted west.
Mason Marchment took defenseman Zach Whitecloud off his skates with a jarring hit behind the Vegas net about 2 minutes into the game.
Knights captain Mark Stone ended up on the ice midway through the first period when it appeared that he was going to take a shot at Jason Robertson, who instead bowed up and delivered a body blow.
In the end, Dallas still could not take down the Knights.
“Loved our first period. We make one mistake at the end of the first, probably deserved to be up,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “That was probably a critical point in the game. Eichel, the wrong guy gets behind us at the wrong time, and that’s what they do, they make you pay. So you come out of the first after playing a great period and you have nothing to show for it.”
In Edmonton, Alberta, Anze Kopitar fired a wrist shot past Stuart Skinner’s glove and into the top corner on a breakaway to give the Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 victory over the Oilers in Game 2 of their first-round series, which is tied 1-1.
In Toronto, Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs to take a 2-1 series lead.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
RSS