The Dallas Stars had already lost Jamie Benn to a game misconduct and pulled Jake Oettinger. Then the team announced that Evgenii Dadonov would not return to the second period of Tuesday’s game due to a lower-body injury.
Dadonov collided with Stars center Roope Hintz and seemed to hurt his knee on Hintz’s head. Dadonov left the game hobbled, and the Stars confirmed he would not return during the first intermission.
The 34-year-old started the game on Dallas’ third line alongside Benn, who is also out for at least the rest of Game 3, and Wyatt Johnston.
The Stars will finish the must-win contest with just 10 forwards, and they are not off to a good start in a game that could determine the fate of their season.
Jonathan Marchessault scored less than two minutes into the contest before Ivan Barbashev extended Vegas’s lead to two goals with a soft effort on the Benn power play. William Carrier scored just his second goal of the playoffs over Oettinger’s shoulder to end the netminder’s evening just eight minutes into the game.
The Stars have not fared any better without Benn, Dadonov and Oettinger; Alex Pietrangelo shot through a screen midway through the second to make it a 4-0 game.
Dadonov, a former Golden Knight, has four goals and 10 points in 16 playoff games this season.
The Stars will need their first comeback victory of this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs to have a chance to tie the series at home during Game 4. They trail 4-0 after two periods and 0-2 in the Western Conference Finals.
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