Despite losing twice at home and trailing 2-0 in their Western Conference first-round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, the Dallas Stars don't feel defeated heading into Game 3 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
"I think we're a confident group," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're obviously not in a great spot, but we're also a veteran group and understand if you win one game, things change. Pressure points change, attitudes change, so that's our focus."
Dallas is the No. 1 seed in the West after racking up a conference-best 113 points in the regular season. But the Golden Knights, who battled injuries throughout the season and landed the final wild-card spot, grinded out 4-3 and 3-1 victories in Dallas. They now return home for the next two games at T-Mobile Arena, where they compiled a 27-12-2 regular-season record.
"It's big, but you can't feel sorry for yourself," DeBoer said of the challenge of attempting to even the best-of-seven series.
One positive for the Stars is that they had the best road record (26-10-5) in the NHL during the regular season. They won eight of their final nine games away from home.
"You've got to start with one (victory)," Dallas forward Tyler Seguin said. "They played some good road games and we've been a good road team all year. We've got to do it again."
Dallas fell behind 3-0 to the Golden Knights in last season's Western Conference final but rallied to win the next two games before losing 6-0 in Game 6 in Dallas. Vegas then went on to defeat the Florida Panthers in five games to win their first Stanley Cup.
"They're the defending Cup champs for a reason," Stars forward Jason Robertson said. "They know how to squeeze it out and finish a game off. It's going to be a grind (to come back in the series), but everyone in here is going to be confident and ready to go."
Robertson scored a first-period power-play goal to give Dallas a 1-0 lead in Game 2 on Wednesday. However, Vegas needed just 1:22 to tie it on Jonathan Marchessault's goal at the end of a rush with Jack Eichel.
Noah Hanifin gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead late in the second period with his first career playoff goal, and Eichel sealed the victory with an empty-netter in the final minute.
"We did enough to win, so that's all that matters this time of year," Eichel said. "I think our game is just going to continue to get better. By no means is that our best game, but we're doing enough to win right now."
Vegas once again clamped down on defense, holding the Stars to just five shots in the second period and five more in the third during a tight-checking contest that featured 109 hits.
"Obviously we played great defensively," Eichel said. "We shut it down in the third. We found a way to win two games on the road. Pretty excited to go back to T-Mobile now."
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy added, "We've got a great fanbase. They'll be happy that we started well on the road and that we're bringing the lead home."
Cassidy wants his team to contain its emotions in what should be a loud environment.
"We've got to be careful that we don't try and do too much," Cassidy said. "Sometimes when you get home, you try and make more plays than are there. It's a good defensive team. We've got to kind of stick to the script in terms of risk versus reward with the puck. You don't want to lose sight of the details and put yourself in a bad spot."
Vegas has won six straight games against Dallas dating to Game 6 in the 2023 Western Conference final.
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