The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights matchup isn’t your typical division winner vs wild card series. Vegas came out of the gate playing like the favourite, but Dallas showed some life in Game 3. We at the Last Word on Hockey are taking a look at the hypothetical midway point of the Stars vs Golden Knights series. We’re looking at the trends and the keys to the series so far between the two teams. Judging by the third game, this series could have a long way to go.
Stars vs Golden Knights Series Review After Three Games
Dallas Stars Keys
The Young Guns
The Stars have gotten an injection of youth over the past couple of seasons and that may be the cornerstone to future success. Moreover, players like Wyatt Johnston are already bearing fruit for the Central Division champions. Johnston’s two goals have gotten the Stars back into the series after dropping the first two. Jason Robertson has been handing out assists for most of the season and Logan Stankoven looks like he belongs.
Dallas has plenty of veteran players on its roster. However, the young players might give the team the foundation it needs to be successful. The Stars may still be down 2-1 in the series, but this one has the feeling of being far from over.
Second Period: A Little Louder and a Little Bit Worse
One thing the Stars do need to clean up is the second period. The Golden Knights have been better by a 4-1 margin and have made the Western top seed play from behind. Dallas is going to have to play much better in the middle frame to eventually overtake Vegas.
Saturday night’s goal by Miro Heiskanen is a good start. However, the Stars need to clean things up in the second. The Stanley Cup champions are excellent at taking advantage of opportunities.
Vegas Golden Knights Keys
Like a Rolling Stone
The return of Mark Stone has given the Golden Knights their identity back. Non-Vegas fans will bemoan the captain missing the end of the regular season due to a spleen injury. However, Stone is great at both ends of the ice. He can score goals like he did with the first of the series. Stone can also lock down the opposition as well.
Something was missing from the Knights’ lineup as the team struggled to get over the line in the last month of the season. However, the Golden Knights are going to be a tough out thanks to the versatile Stone.
A Jack of All Trades
Jack Eichel is loving life in Sin City this post-season with five points. The former Boston University product has two goals and three points in the first three games. Vegas gave up a lot to the Buffalo Sabres to make a deal happen last season. However, a Stanley Cup and a possible deep run seems to make the risk worth the reward.
Eichel has played in all phases of the game for Bruce Cassidy‘s team. The 27-year-old tallied a shorthanded-goal for the Golden Knights in Game 3. He’s also been a part of the Vegas power play and has found his stride after an acrimonious end in Buffalo. Eichel became the fastest American-born player to reach 30 playoff points in just 24 games. The Knights will need Eichel to keep up his strong play if they want to advance.
What’s Ahead for Stars vs Golden Knights
The Defences Never Rest
Both teams have their defensive groups as their calling cards. Dallas has a great group with Heiskanen, Chris Tanev, and Esa Lindell. Tanev’s acquisition and return of Tyler Seguin to the forward group gave the Stars the push they needed to get the top seed in the West. Heiskanen has yet to win a Norris Trophy, but that problem should one day be rectified in a world of talented blueliners like Cale Makar, Adam Fox, and others. The Finn more than holds his own.
However, don’t sleep on the Golden Knights’ defensive corps. Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, and Zach Whitecloud already make an impressive defensive group. However, the addition of Noah Hanifin has put Vegas in the conversation for one of the best defences in the league. McNabb is on a run of scoring form and Hanifin is looking like that big-money extension was a shrewd deal already.
Road Warriors
All three games in the series have been taken by the visitors. There’s an old adage about how it’s not really a playoff series until the road team wins has been chucked out the window. Both teams are strong enough to win either home or away.
Vegas was 18-17-6 away from T-Mobile Arena this season, but some of those numbers may have been skewed due to injury problems. Dallas was a dangerous 26-10-5 away from the American Airlines Center this campaign. The Stars may have dropped the first two away from Texas this series. However, they are more than capable of evening the series at two games apiece.
The key is going to be who finally holds serve at home. Defending the home barn may tell the tale of who escapes the opening round between the Stars vs Golden Knights/
Main photo by: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
