Vegas Golden Knights won Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Stars last night. The team from Nevada responded very well following the loss in the opening match of the series, shutting down the Stars for a 3-0 victory.
Knights’ superb second period was the main reason for the win, as they score all three goals in those 20 minutes, killing the morale of the frustrated rivals. They outshot Dallas 19-7 and used one powerplay situation. After this frame, Stars’ head coach Rick Bowness decided to pull out his starting goalie, Anton Khudobin, as he allowed three scores on 27 shots.
Paul Stastny opened the show after 4:53 of the second, using Max Pacioretty’s assist to hit the back of the Stars’ net. The No.1 seed in the Western Conference didn’t wait for too long to double its lead. William Karlsson netted at 8:24, during a powerplay following Corey Perry’s penalty.
Shea Theodore would beat Khudobin 1:25 later, but after Bowness challenged the call, the score was disallowed due to goalie interference. Yet, that didn’t stop Vegas’ surge as they continued to roll at the same pace.
Chandler Stephenson and Nicolas Roy made a nice combination with Tomas Nosek, who would then score for 3-0 with 5:28 to go until the end. It was the last goal of the game, even though the Stars increased the tempo in the final period.
They had 12 shots, compared to just five of the Golden Knights, but without any success in cutting the deficit. The guy who needs to be credited for that is Robin Lehner. Although he had 24 saves, which is nothing spectacular, Lehner was pretty confident that in moments when it seemed that Dallas might create some swing.
that's a LOT of shot from the star of the week 🌟 pic.twitter.com/uKMZzhj4i6
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) September 8, 2020
Lehner, a 29-year old, was excellent over the recent few matches. This was his fourth shutout in the past seven events, as a starter.
Golden Knights looked much better than in Game 1, which they lost 0-1. The offense was more dangerous, and on the other side, the defense was locked in. Lehner and all the guys ahead of him were superb.
As for the Stars, they need to regroup and respond. It seems that the frustration overwhelmed them in some moments, which is something not allowed at this stage of the season.
Game 3 is this Thursday at 8 pm ET in Edmonton.
