Knights-Stars recap: Goalie stands on head despite hard-luck loss
Knights-Stars series at a glance
Golden Knights lead 2-1
■ Game 1 — Knights 4, Stars 3
■ Game 2 — Knights 3, Stars 1
■ Game 3 — Stars 3, Knights 2, OT
■ Game 4 — Monday, 6:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena (KMCC-34), ESPN (30)
■ Game 5 — Wednesday, TBD at American Airlines Center (KMCC-34)
■ Game 6* — Friday, TBD at T-Mobile Arena (KMCC-34)
■ Game 7* — May 5, TBD at American Airlines Center (KMCC-34)
*If necessary
RJ’s three stars
3. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen — He scored a goal in the second period after assisting on the Stars’ first tally. Heiskanen also had three hits and three blocks in a game-high 34:10 of ice time.
2. Knights goaltender Logan Thompson— He was the only reason the Knights had a chance to win Saturday. He ended up taking the first playoff loss of his career instead. Thompson matched his career high with 43 saves, many of them spectacular. He fought until the end.
1. Dallas center Wyatt Johnston — His second goal was the game winner in overtime. He was a menace throughout, racking up a game-high eight shots on goal. His first goal gave the Stars a 1-0 lead with 8:49 left in the first period.
Key play
Dallas needed a spectacular shot to beat Thompson with the way the goaltender was playing. Johnston provided it.
He carried the puck across the blue line, skated past defenseman Shea Theodore and roofed the puck over Thompson to win the game with 3:38 remaining in overtime.
Key stat
23-4: Statistics don’t always paint a full picture of a given game. This one comes close.
The Stars generated 16 high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five by the time the Knights scored their first goal with 9:20 left in the second period, according to the website Natural Stat Trick. They allowed just one.
The Knights did rally to tie the game, but they never tilted the ice back in their favor. Dallas finished with a 23-4 edge in high-danger scoring chances.
Notable
McNabb’s goal was his second in three games this postseason. That ties his career high for a single playoff run, set in 2018.
The veteran isn’t known for his offense, but he’s one of just three NHL defensemen with multiple goals this postseason. The other two are Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey and Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty.
McNabb added an assist on the Knights’ second goal Saturday for his second ever multipoint game in the playoffs. His first came against the Jets on May 16, 2018.
Knights quotable
“They executed better than we did. You could see it in overtime. They had more jump, more urgency. We just didn’t have the level we needed tonight to win a playoff hockey game. For whatever reason. We’ll sort through that. But again, the start was unacceptable and we should be better than that. We need to be a lot better on Monday, and we’ll make sure we prepare the guys so we are.”
— Knights coach Bruce Cassidy
Stars quotable
“What a player. And he still can’t get in the casino and play cards because he’s not old enough. It’s unbelievable. Really incredible play by what is going to be one of the great young players of this next generation of stars of this league. I thought he was just outstanding tonight. For a kid to be under 21 and on that ice with that level of players and look like he did all night tonight, just an outstanding player.”
— Stars coach Pete DeBoer on Johnston, who is just 20 years old
Adam Hill Review-Journal
