Philipp Grubauer seemed unbeatable in the early part of Monday’s Game 7 between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken.
The Stars had nine shots on goal in the first period and faced a tough test from Grubauer before the second period provided a shot of energy for Dallas. With a little over four minutes left in the second, Roope Hintz came up with a revitalizing takeaway and used his speed to move away from the Seattle defense before placing a wrist shot in the top right corner of Grubauer’s goal.
As the clock wound down, the Stars managed to hang on to their slim lead deep into the third period. A defensive clearance from Evgenii Dadonov in the third saw the puck bounce off the wall to the left of Grubauer’s goal, setting rookie Wyatt Johnston up to take possession with one defender in the vicinity.
With 7:12 left in regulation, Johnston set himself up quickly and scored with a backhand to put the Stars up by two. According to NHL PR, the 20-year-old became the youngest player to score a series-clinching goal in a Game 7.
Oliver Bjorkstrand went on to score with 17.6 seconds remaining, but the Kraken couldn’t tie things up as the game ended. The Stars will move on to the Western Conference finals to face the Vegas Golden Knights, with Game 1 of the series taking place Friday.
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