Vegas Golden Knights center Ivan Barbashev (49) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) during Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference Final at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, May 27, 2023.
Published Saturday, May 27, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Updated Sunday, May 28, 2023 | 9:53 a.m.
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As the Golden Knights have learned throughout the playoffs, pushback from the opposition comes at some point.
The Dallas Stars brought it in Thursday's 3-2 overtime victory at American Airlines Center. More notably, it was the performance the Stars needed from their superstar, Jason Robertson.
Robertson scored his fifth and sixth goals of the playoffs in Game 4 to cut Vegas' series lead to 3-1, with Game 5 today at T-Mobile Arena (5 p.m., ABC), as the Golden Knights will once again try to win their second Western Conference crown in franchise history.
The Stars needed their top players to deliver to keep their slim hopes alive, and Robertson did that in Game 4 while posting a game-high 11 shots on goal.
“I think we were playing a lot faster, a lot quicker ... and cleaner in breakouts,” Robertson said. “That gave me a lot of opportunities.”
Consider that the Golden Knights' top ine of Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson had 12 shots combined, and Thursday was the perfect example of Dallas' big-time players stepping up to carry them to a win.
It was only a matter of time before Robertson got going. The 23-year-old superstar has been a force since 2020-21 when he finished second in the Calder Trophy voting behind Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild.
During that season, Robertson — a Los Angeles-area native — collected 17 goals and 28 assists in 51 games. In his second season, Robertson logged a team-high 41 goals and added 38 assists to finish second on the team with 79 points. This season, he one-upped that, and then some, with 46 goals and 63 assists 109 points — all team highs.
That’s why his lack of scoring in the playoffs was a surprise. In the first two rounds, Robertson had just two goals through 13 games. Fortunately for Robertson, he had linemates Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski to pick up the slack. Hintz leads all players in scoring this postseason with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists), and the 38-year-old Pavelski scored his ninth goal of the playoffs at 3:18 of overtime Thursday to extend the Stars’ season.
“He’s a dynamic player,” defenseman Alec Martinez said. “Their backs were against the wall, and one of their top players made plays. That’s the name of the game sometimes.”
The Stars were already facing an uphill climb down 3-0 in the series and then had to play without Jamie Benn — serving the first of a two-game suspension for a cross-check on Golden Knights captain Mark Stone in Game 3 — and forward Evgenii Dadonov to a lower-body injury. Dadonov will not playSaturday.
But getting that win without their captain and veteran goal-scorer can instill confidence in Dallas. Teams have come back from 3-0 deficits before to win a series, most recently the 2014 Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks. Martinez was on that team.
It might be challenging to build experience from that, considering no team in 47 tries has ever won four straight to win the series before the Stanley Cup Final in league history, and the Kings completed that rally in the first round.
“I think experience in general, I would rely on the experience I’ve been in up 3-0 and not closing a team out in that Game 4,” Martinez said. “The fourth one is the hardest to get.”
But as far as there needing to be much from the Golden Knights to change with the series shifting back to Las Vegas, there may not be a lot of tinkering. The Stars benefitted from dictating the matchups in Game 4 because of being at home, something they couldn’t do in Game 3 after Benn’s action and Dadonov leaving the game in the first period.
The consensus is the Golden Knights need to do a better job playing near the crease. Both of Robertson’s goals came just outside the blue paint on multiple efforts. Adin Hill played, arguably, his best game of the series Thursday with 39 saves, but Jake Oettinger was almost as good with 37 stops.
“You obviously want to win in four and close it on the road,” Hill said. “But it’s always nice to come back and be in front of the home crowd. I’m excited for (Saturday.)”
It will likely be another game where Karlsson’s line will be tasked with slowing down Robertson, Hintz and Pavelski. All three members of Dallas’ top line found the back of the net in Game 4. Dallas’ limited depth has a tall task in front of itself.
Should the Golden Knights contain those matchups, that could be the difference — and possibly set up meeting the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final starting Wednesday.
“It’s finding that balance between knowing what’s at stake and approaching it as another playoff game,” Martinez said. “You’re better off focusing on the process knowing if you play a good game, play a good 60, the result will take care of itself.”
Golden Knights-Stars, Game 5 (Vegas leads 3-1)
Time: 5 p.m.
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: ESPN
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM
Odds: Golden Knights -146, Stars +126; O/U 5.5 (Westgate SuperBook)
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
