First Period

Dallas opened up the scoring less than three minutes into the first period.  Vegas missed a shot on goal during a scoring opportunity, which allowed Dallas to turn back up the ice.  Jamie Benn maintained control into the zone and shot the puck, which was blocked, but the puck bounced right to a rushing John Klingberg, who was able to bury it.

Khudobin made some huge saves throughout the period, stopping all eight shots the Knights had for him.

Dallas went into the 2nd period with a 1-0 lead.

Second Period

The Stars came out strong in the period, outshooting their opponent, only allowing one shot for the first three quarters of the period.  Play was getting pretty rough between the two teams.  Throughout the period, Nick Cousins and Jamie Benn were getting especially chippy with each other.

The second concluded 1-0, but Dallas maintained the momentum.  However, it felt like the Stars needed to capitalize on more chances to have a little more breathing room.

Third Period

Vegas came out strong against Dallas, outshooting them through the period.  They had a really good chance to score back door, with less than a minute left, but Khudobin would get the his stick on the pass to break it up.

Dallas held on to the only goal of the game, that happened 57 minutes before, to seal the deal.

Three Stars

Khudobin– 24 save shut out

Benn– Assist, 4 hits

Klingberg– GWG

Takeaways

1. The Stars are playing “playoff hockey”, banging bodies, wearing down their opponents, and they’re brandishing a more physical style of play.
2. Dallas has proved they can win games that are high and low scoring.  They’re proving they can beat their opposition at whatever game they want to play.
3. Stars D-Men won the puck battles behind their own goal line this game.  They also continue to do a great job of stopping the other team’s forwards in the neutral zone, or at the very least, by the time they get to the blue line.  This style of play is what allows them to jump into rushes, which is why their defense has so many points these playoffs.