TEMPE, Ariz. — Jason Robertson had a objective and three assists, along with his objective breaking a tie with 22 seconds remaining within the second interval within the Dallas Stars’ 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night time.
Robertson has 42 targets, tied with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for seventh within the NHL. His second-period objective was the a hundredth of his NHL profession and broke Mike Modano’s single-season report for factors by a Dallas Star with 94. Robertson added level No. 95 along with his third-period help.
Stars’ Jason Robertson scores a hundredth profession objective, breaks Mike Modano’s factors report
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Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn additionally scored for Dallas, which swept the four-game season collection whereas outscoring the Coyotes 19-6. Benn scored his thirty second on an influence play 5 minutes into the third interval for a 4-2 lead, and Max Domi scored into an open internet with 1:01 remaining.
Dallas (41-20-14) moved some extent behind Minnesota and two factors forward of Colorado for the Central Division lead. The Stars play the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche in Denver on Saturday. Colorado has a sport in hand on each.
Jake Oettinger had 15 saves for the Stars.
Jusso Valimaki and Connor Mackey scored for Arizona and Karel Vejmelka had 26 saves. The Coyotes have misplaced six straight.
Stars’ Tyler Seguin particulars what occurred with grotesque damage, restoration
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Pavelski scored his twenty third objective 1:23 into the sport. Esa Lindell’s go from the let circle caromed in off Pavelski as he was being checked in entrance of the web.
Clayton Keller assisted on Valimaki’s objective to increase his factors streak to 14 video games, the longest because the franchise relocated from Winnipeg in 1996. Keller is tied with Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson for the longest lively factors streak within the NHL.
Valimaki scored on an influence play 5 minutes into the primary interval and Mackey scored after a Dallas turnover late to present the Coyotes a 2-1 lead after the primary interval.
Hintz scored his thirty fourth objective of the season 53 seconds into the second interval, when he roofed a fast wrist shot from the best circle to tie it at 2-2.
NOTES: The Stars loaned G Scott Wedgewood to Texas of the American Hockey League on a conditioning project Friday. Wedgewood, who has a 2.92 goals-against common in 18 video games, was acquired from the Coyotes final March for a 2023 third-round draft decide. … Coyotes D Victor Soderstrom acquired a double-minor excessive sticking penalty when he hit Hintz into the boards with 7:47 remaining. Hintz was susceptible on the ice a number of moments earlier than skating off. He didn’t return.
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.
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The Stars sacrificed home-ice advantage in Game 1 against Vegas. Now what?
Knights out: Photos from Dallas Stars’ Game 1 loss to Vegas
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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.”
Jake Oettinger shows holes early as Stars fall behind defending champion Golden KnightsDallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) looks up at the scoreboard during the second period of an NHL playoff hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights at the American Airlines Center on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Dallas.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.
The Dallas Cowboys have been connected with Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton ahead of Thursday’s draft, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“The versatile Barton is one player I’ve heard connected to the team, which makes sense given Dallas’s track record of success (Zack Martin, Travis Frederick) taking interior linemen high,” Breer wrote Monday.
Breer expects the Cowboys to pursue a running back like Texas’ Jonathan Brooks later in the draft, but to focus on the offensive line the first round.
The Cowboys hold the No. 24 pick in the first round. The team is looking to bolster an OL led by 2023 Pro Bowler Tyler Smith.
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The Cowboys select again in the second round at No. 56.
The B/R NFL Scouting Department projects Barton as a first-round pick who “presents enough versatility to start at any of the five positions” in their latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
In nine games as starting tackle during his senior season for Duke, Barton helped the Blue Devils offensive line rank top-25 in the nation with 1.31 sacks allowed per game.
Barton missed the Senior Bowl and was limited at the NFL Combine due to injury, but improved his draft stock with a solid showing at Duke’s Pro Day. The 6-foot-5.25 blocker completed a 4.84-second 40-yard dash that led some scouts to say he had earned a spot in the first round, according to Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline.
Breer compared the Cowboys’ pursuit of Barton to the team’s first-round selections of Frederick (pick No. 31) and Martin (pick No. 16) during the 2013 and 2014 NFL Drafts, respectively.
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Frederick ended up making 96 starts and earning five Pro Bowl nominations, including one All-Pro, in six seasons played with the Cowboys before retiring in 2020 due to health reasons. Martin is meanwhile seeking his fourth consecutive All-Pro campaign as he heads into his 10th straight season as a Dallas starter.
There’s also Smith, whom the Cowboys selected with the No. 24 pick of the 2022 draft. Smith’s ability to change positions between guard and tackle has allowed Dallas to handle OL injuries over the past two seasons and will likely remain a key part of the Cowboys’ offensive structure in 2024.
If Dallas believes this former Duke star to be a similarly flexible prospect, the team’s past success with drafting high on offensive lineman could lead the Cowboys to use another first-round pick on Barton.
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