Five thoughts from Stars’ Game 1 loss to Vegas: Dallas gets chances, can’t capitalize

The Vegas Golden Knights took an early lead in the first-round series against the Dallas Stars Monday night with a 4-3 win in Game 1.

The Golden Knights scored the game’s first goal just 1:23 into the contest and never looked back.

The Stars will now have to steal a game at T-Mobile Arena to advance to the second round.

Here are five thoughts from Game 1 of the Stars-Golden Knights series.

Early-game struggles bleed into playoffs

The Stars set a franchise record this season when they notched 26 comeback wins in the regular season. Half of their total wins came after falling into an early hole.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer said late in the regular season that while the record said his team is resilient, it also alerts him that it has a habit of sacrificing the first goal, which cannot carry into the playoffs.

In Game 1 against Vegas, it did. On the game’s first shift, Sam Steel was called for high sticking, and Mark Stone gave Vegas a 1-0 lead just 1:23 into the game on the power play.

“You can’t chase the game the whole series,” DeBoer said. “I thought we were chasing the game all night. We’ve got to make sure we fix that going forward.”

While Dallas didn’t collapse after sacrificing the early lead, Vegas didn’t let up either. Seven minutes later, Jonathan Marchessault made it 2-0. The Stars continued to find scoring chances but were never able to recover from that deficit.

Dallas has been able to afford first-period struggles because it’s been so dominant in the second period, scoring 106 goals in the frame for third best in the NHL. It didn’t get that same boost in the second, as Vegas extended its lead just 1:06 into the frame, and Dallas did not score.

Vegas dominates on special teams

The Stars’ first playoff outing was disastrous on special teams. Vegas scored on both of its power plays while the Stars went 0-for-2.

Vegas had the 20th-best power play in the league at 20.2% in the regular season while the Stars ranked sixth at 24.2%. The Stars’ penalty kill ranked eighth (82%) while Vegas’ ranked 16th (79.3%).

The Stars had no excuse for struggling on special teams the way they did. After Steel committed the early penalty, it took Vegas less than a minute to get on the board. Late in the second period, trade deadline acquisition Tomas Hertl restored Vegas’ two-goal lead with another power-play score.

For as strong as Dallas has been on special teams, it must capitalize on that advantage in future games. It also needs to avoid taking penalties, especially on the first shift of the game. If it weren’t for Vegas’ two special-teams goals, the game could have been very different.

Jake Oettinger was not at his best

Not all four goals were Jake Oettinger’s fault. The first was deflected. The second and third were on shots from point-blank range.

But given how well the Stars’ netminder has played over the last month, his first playoff outing wasn’t what he would’ve hoped for.

“I think we’ve got to do a better job tying up sticks around the net,” DeBoer said. “I think we can help him. But I think, like everybody, he’s got another level for us, too.”

Oettinger had a 10-1-0 record in the last 11 games of the regular season with a .941 save percentage and 1.54 goals-against average.

On Monday, he faced just 15 shots all night. Dallas controlled the puck possession, but when Vegas had its opportunities, it capitalized.

He also let in a goal on a prayer of a shot from the boards by Brayden McNabb that may have deflected off a player but also looked like he lost sight of the puck.

Across the ice was Logan Thompson for Vegas, and while he’s had a standout year, he was making his playoff debut Monday. He allowed three goals on 30 shots.

Oettinger said Sunday that he will have bad games in the playoffs and has to be prepared to bounce back. Dallas just didn’t expect that in Game 1 and will need him to do so quickly before Wednesday night rolls around.

“Not the ideal start, but everyone’s going to look at their own game and try to be better next game, and that starts with me,” he said.

The Stars goalie did have a rare assist on Mason Marchment’s third-period goal, the first of the season and fifth of his career.

Momentum swings and capitalizing on opportunities to be key in series

The playoffs are about capitalizing on opportunities when they’re in front of you. Vegas was opportunistic in Game 1, and the Stars weren’t.

A handful of plays led to major momentum shifts in the game.

Steel’s penalty set the tone. Ryan Suter answered for Dallas on a shot from the point midway through the period, but due to Marchment being offside, it was taken off the board after a Vegas challenge.

Just seconds later, Marchessault scored, making it 2-0 in the first and handing all the momentum to the Golden Knights.

The Stars generated significantly more scoring chances than Vegas did, outshooting the Golden Knights 30-15. Dallas had 10 high-danger scoring changes to just six by Vegas.

But when Dallas could’ve tied it up, especially late in the third period, it was unable to. Vegas did just enough to walk away with the series lead.

“I thought we could have won the game tonight, but we didn’t play well enough to make sure we won the game tonight,” DeBoer said.

Mark Stone’s return could be a bigger problem than Dallas anticipated

One of the top storylines entering the series was whether Vegas’ captain Mark Stone would return from long-term injured reserve for the start of the playoffs.

For the second year in a row, Stone returned just in time for the playoffs, this time from a lacerated spleen. Many questioned the convenient timing of his return as soon as the league no longer has a salary cap. The American Airlines Center crowd let him hear it, booing Stone every time he touched the puck Monday.

But the captain’s impacts were felt instantly, as he scored the first goal of the series on the power play. He was on a new line with Hertl, whom he had never played before, but the two jelled, as both scored in the contest.

The Stars said they weren’t concerned about the return of Stone, William Carrier, Alex Pietrangelo or any of Vegas’ lineup changes ahead of the series. But their return clearly injected some energy into Vegas’ start to the series that Dallas will have to better handle in Game 2.

Twitter: @lassimak