Stars send series back to Texas
With Dallas’s season on the line, the Stars got two critical goals from a player who was a healthy scratch the first two games of the Western Conference final.
Ty Dellandrea’s goals came within a 1:27 span midway through the third period, and the Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Saturday to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the Stanley Cup final to face the Florida Panthers.
“He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever played with,” said Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who made 27 saves. “He deserves every opportunity he gets, and there’s no one happier for him than the guys in this room.
“It shows how special you are when you get taken out. He didn’t make it about him. He needed the opportunity to step up, and that’s what he did.”
The Stars escaped elimination for the second straight game and head to Dallas for Game 6 on Monday night down 3-2.
Dallas is attempting to become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a playoff series after being down 3-0.
And look who’s back for the Stars? Captain Jamie Benn returns after a two-game suspension for his crosscheck to the neck of Vegas captain Mark Stone in Game 3. That was the only game in this series that was decided early, and until Saturday the Stars hadn’t even had a multigoal lead.
“I know our group, and we weren’t happy about being in the hole we were in, and they decided to do something about it,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “And now we’re rolling.”
The only problem for DeBoer was waiting two days to play Game 6.
“Drop the puck,” he said.
I know our group, and we weren’t happy about being in the hole we were in, and they decided to do something about it.
PETE DEBOER STARS COACH