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Knights playing ‘winning hockey’ ahead of playoff rematch with Stars

The first meeting of a playoff rematch tends to bring unique energy. The losing team tries to avenge the series loss, while the winning team spends one night trying to prove it wasn’t a fluke.

Make no mistake: The Dallas Stars eliminating the Golden Knights in last season’s Western Conference first-round matchup wasn’t by accident.

The final cumulative score was 16-16 when all was said and done after seven games. The Stars earned it after rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win four of the next five. That ended the Knights’ chances to repeat as Stanley Cup champions earlier than anticipated.

The Knights, last season’s No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, left that series thinking they could have taken out the top-seeded Stars.

They can’t do anything about last season, but the Knights have acted on it as they sit first place in the Pacific Division entering Friday’s rematch with Dallas at T-Mobile Arena.

The Knights will try for their third straight win after sweeping a back-to-back with a 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and a commanding 4-1 result at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.

Packed schedule

This will be the Knights’ 10th game in their last 17 days. The frequent flier miles racked up during their five-game road trip from Nov. 20 to 27, then followed that with two back-to-backs in a span of five days.

The only notable blip was the 6-0 thud against the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday, but the Knights responded with two of their best defensive performances of the season. They allowed one goal or fewer in consecutive games for the first time this season.

“I think we got to get to that game often. It’s not going to happen all the time,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s something we wanted to focus coming out of training camp. I don’t think we’ve hit that level defensively yet, but I think (Wednesday) was one of our better ones.”

Cassidy was pleased with how the Knights shored up defensively in the third period against the Ducks.

Despite the Knights keeping a stranglehold defensively on Oilers captain Connor McDavid and center Leon Draisaitl, they gave up 16 shots in the third period. Goaltender Adin Hill made key saves late to preserve his 28-save shutout.

The Knights carried a 2-1 lead into the third period Wednesday at Anaheim. This time, they extended the lead with goals from right wing Alexander Holtz and an empty-netter for defenseman Shea Theodore.

Goaltender Ilya Samsonov rebounded from that six-goal debacle in Utah by stopping 19 of 20 shots.

“A lot of that is puck management. Make them go 200 feet, that way you get to use everybody and not be fatigued,” Cassidy said on the overnight change. “I thought we checked better, too. We did that well (Tuesday), but even better (Wednesday).”

Friday will be the Knights’ last game before a five-day break.

That’s welcoming for a team that’s played a lot of hockey. It’s also helpful for the Knights to get captain Mark Stone back in the lineup at some point.

Captain’s status

Stone was a noncontact participant at morning skate Tuesday, a sign Cassidy thought was in the positive direction. Morning skates don’t produce enough contact to see if Stone can handle it, so even Friday will be unclear if he can go, or if he’ll ramp up his practice time before the Knights play at Winnipeg on Dec. 12.

Stone, who has 21 points in 13 games, said Thursday he’ll see how he feels following morning skate if he’ll return to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 6.

“I’m excited to get back with my teammates this week, but we’ll see how my pregame skate goes tomorrow and make sure I’m dialed in before I make that decision,” Stone said.

The Stars (16-9-0) had their three-game winning streak end Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Dallas had a 2-0 lead after the first period before letting the Kings back into the game. Los Angeles needed only 17 shots to beat goaltender Jake Oettinger.

The Knights should expect Dallas to respond appropriately, especially given the matchup, but it helps that the Knights feel good about their game.

“I think we’ve been playing really good winning hockey,” Holtz said. “Obviously really nice to get out with two wins here. It’s going to be nice to get back and play at the Fortress again.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.

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