Tag: Rekindled

The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights are no strangers to high-stakes matchups, having faced off in the playoffs three times in the last five seasons. The two rivals hit the ice Friday as Dallas looks to rebound, having lost four of its last six games following a seven-game winning streak.

How to watch: Note the early puck drop at 6:30 pm from the AAC with the national broadcast on ESPN. As always, listen to the radio call on The Ticket.

These two teams have a rich playoff history. The Stars claimed a thrilling seven-game series in the first round last season, while the Golden Knights eliminated Dallas the year before in the Western Conference Finals.

First-place Vegas will pose a tough challenge for Dallas. On Tuesday, the Stars fell 2-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes in a tight matchup that slipped away late. After tying the game midway through the third period, the Stars saw the Hurricanes respond just 24 seconds later with the game-winning goal.

Defenseman Thomas Harley scored his seventh goal of the season on assists from Wyatt Johnston and Miro Heiskanen. Stars center Roope Hintz returned from a three-game absence and centered the third line adding three shots on goal.

The Golden Knights had lost six of their last seven games before beating the Blues on Thursday, 4-2. Vegas traveled overnight from St. Louis to Dallas while the Stars are on a three-day rest.

Dallas (29-17-1) sits in third place (59 points) in the Central Division, while Vegas (30-14-4) leads the Pacific Division. The Stars lost 3-2 to the Golden Knights earlier this season in December. 

Dallas Stars Lineup

Jason Robertson (21) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Jamie Benn (14) – Matt Duchene (95) – Mavrik Bourque (22)
Sam Steel (18) – Roope Hintz (24) – Logan Stankoven (11)
Matej Blumel (10) – Oskar Bäck (10) – Colin Blackwell (15)

Esa Lindell (23) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Thomas Harley (55) – Ilya Lyubushkin (46)
Brendan Smith (2) – Nils Lundqvist (5)

Jake Oettinger (29)
Casey DeSmith (1)

Lineup notes: Dallas recalled forward Matej Blümel and defenseman Lian Bichsel from the Texas Stars on Thursday.

Vegas Golden Knights Lineup

Ivan Barbashev (49) – Jack Eichel (9) – Mark Stone (61)
Victor Olofsson (95) – Tomas Hertl (48) – Pavel Dorofeyev (16)
Brendan Brisson (19) – Nicolas Roy (10) – Alexander Holtz (26)
Tanner Pearson (70) – Tanner Laczynski (28) – Keegan Kolesar (55)

Noah Hanifin (15) – Alex Pietrangelo (7)
Brayden McNabb (3) – Shea Theodore (27)
Nicolas Hague (14) – Zach Whitecloud (2)

Adin Hill (33)
Ilya Samsonov (35)

Players to watch

Tomas Hertl

Tomas Hertl is on a heater for the Golden Knights. The 31-year-old center has scored in each of his last four games, including a power-play goal in Monday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Blues and added an empty-netter on Thursday. Hertl is riding a seven-game point streak, tallying six goals during that stretch, making him a potential challenge for the Stars.

Jason Robertson

Robertson scored a power-play goal added an assist in Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Red Wings, but the winger was held scoreless in Tuesday’s game against Carolina. Overall, Robo seems to have hit his stride during the last month, nearing the point-per-game pace he’s set throughout his career. Dallas will count on its top line and power play to deliver on Friday, with Robertson playing a key role in both.

Jamie Benn-Mark Stone

The two captains have history and aren’t shy about it.  Stone is having another solid season for Vegas, recording 13 goals and 28 assists in 34 games. Benn was on a solid pace through December and early January (12 goals, 18 assists in 47 games) but has cooled off since. Benn has been held pointless in the last six contests.