Golden Knights Analysis
Knights Stumble, Blow Lead; Stars Shoot Past in OT

When it comes to pop culture, almost everyone has an Achilles Heel.. Superman has Kryptonite; the Wicked Witch of the West has water. Gremlins are vulnerable to bright light. The weakness of the Vegas Golden Knights (31-15-5) comes in the form of 21-year-old Wyatt Johnston.
Johnston has five points (2-3-5) in three games against the Golden Knights this season. When the Stars eliminated the Golden Knights from the postseason last year, Johnston had four goals and three assists in the series. Heโs going to be a problem for quite some time.
There were three goals scored in the first four minutes of the gameโ although one was disallowedโ and a fourth was scored less than three minutes later. There were two goals scored on three shots, and then three goals on six shots. For a brief moment, it looked like this game would devolve into run-and-gun, shinny hockey reminiscent of a Penguins-Flyers playoff series circa 2012. That, of course, did not turn out to be the case.
This was a strange game.
Almost all of the scoring happened in short spurts. The first three goals were scored in a five-minute span; the next two came just 1:07 apart. The Stars tied the game on their only good look in the third period. The rest of this game was exactly what youโd expect out of a Stars-Golden Knights matchup: low-event.
Ivan Barbashev scored 56 seconds into the game to snap a 10-game goal drought. Unfortunately for him, the Stars successfully challenged for offsides. Pete DeBoer is now 3/3 on coachโs challenges this season, and Barbashev is back on the schneid.
The Golden Knights officially took the lead just over a minute later. Jack Eichel showed off his stick-handling abilities before ripping a shot toward the net. Jason Robertson blocked Eichel’s shot, but Mark Stone got to the puck first. Stone rimmed it in deep for Ivan Barbashev, who backhanded it to Eichel for a back-door tap-in.
The Stars struck back less than two minutes later. Matt Duchene entered the zone with a head of steam, but Jonas Rรธndbjerg backchecked aggressively and knocked the puck away. Alex Pietrangelo tried to clear, but Miro Heiskanen held it in at the line and worked it deeper for Duchene. Duchene centered, and Mavrik Bourque beat Adin Hill five-hole.
Nic Hague received a centering pass from Pavel Dorofeyev. Both Lian Bichsel and Jason Robertson pestered him, but Hague came away with the puck. Hague then did his best Bobby Orr impression, cutting wide around Matt Duchene and driving the net. A combined effort by Duchene and Matt Dumba finally knocked Hague off the puck, but it was too late. Hague fired a shot on net that was kicked aside by Jake Oettinger, and Tomรกลก Hertl batted in the rebound.
After that early explosion of offense, both teams remembered that they preferred to play structured, defensive hockey and locked it down for the rest of the period.
The second period started well for the Golden Knights. Jonas Rรธndbjerg drew a tripping penalty, and a minute later, Ilya Lybushkin slashed Pavel Dorofeyev, sending the Golden Knights to a two-man advantage.
Tomรกลก Hertl lost the pivotal faceoff, but the Stars couldnโt clear the zone. Mark Stone found Jack Eichel. Eichel dusted the puck off while Stone drifted to the goal line before passing it back. Stone sent the puck through the crease to Pavel Dorofeyev faster than you can say tic-tac-toe, and Dorofeyev exacted his revenge.
Dorofeyev scored just 15 seconds into the 5-on-3. The Golden Knights had all the momentum, and they still had 1:45 on the man advantage.
And then, along came Wyatt Johnston.
Still on the power play, Shea Theodore attempted a pass to Mark Stone, but Roope Hintz picked it off. Hintz took off up ice while shielding the puck from a backchecking Mark Stone. Adin Hill saved Hintzโs shorthanded bid, but Wyatt Johnston was there to bang in the rebound.
Three seconds later, Nic Roy high-sticked Mavrik Bourque right off the faceoff and drew blood. The Golden Knights penalty kill shone, and they killed off the four-minute double-minor.
Wyatt Johnston tied the game off of a give-and-go with Roope Hintz, ripping it off the post and in to beat Hill far side.
Overtime ended as quickly as it started. Jack Eichel won the draw, and Shea Theodore blew past all three Stars. Jake Oettinger made the save, and Esa Lindell sprung Wyatt Johnstonโ who else?– on a breakaway with Roope Hintz. Jack Eichel was the only Golden Knight back, and Johnston slid the puck past him to Hintz. Adin Hill bit on Hintzโs fake shot, and Johnston was all alone to tap it home.
And that was that.
Golden Knights Notes
The Golden Knights are now 3-5 in games that have been decided in overtime this season.
This loss keeps the Golden Knights at second in the Pacific Division. The Edmonton Oilers are ahead by one point and have a game in hand.
Tomรกลก Hertl scored to extend his point streak to ten games. He has eight goals and six assists over this stretch.
Jack Eichel had two points tonight. His point streak extends to eight games (5-5-10).
Pavel Dorofeyevโs power play marker was his 10th of the season. He now leads the Golden Knights in power play goals.
Mark Stone recorded two assists tonight, which gives him 200 total assists as a Golden Knight.
Before tonight, the Dallas Stars were 0-13-0 when trailing after two periods. They are now 1-13-0.
The most significant play of the game occurred at 7:56 in the third period. Miro Heiskanen had the puck, and Mark Stone went for a poke check. As he reached for the puck, Roope Hintz got his stick caught up in Stoneโs skate. Stone went airborne and collided awkwardly with Heiskanenโs knee. It wasnโt pretty live, and the replay was even worse. Knees arenโt supposed to bend that way. Heiskanen was helped off the ice and did not return.
โI go to reach to try and angle him out, and Iโm not sure who it was that tripped me, and I fell forward,โ said Mark Stone postgame. โYou never want to see guys get hurt. I really hope heโs alright. I was just trying to make a play and got tripped into him.โ