On Monday night at the American Airlines Center, the Vegas Golden Knights paid a visit to the Dallas Stars. Dallas kicked off the game with the reunification of the Benn-Seguin-Radulov line which was broken up earlier in the season by Jim Montgomery following the line mates not producing to their fullest. Even going so far to put Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on the third line.
Alexander Radulov opened up the scoring in the first with eight minutes left in the frame after a deflection off the stick of veteran defensemen John Klingberg. This would give the Dallas Stars a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Esa Lindell would net the puck just two minutes in, the goal doubling Dallas’ lead on a pass from Andrew Cogliano.
The second period saw Golden Knights defensemen Shea Theodore score the first Vegas goal, Theodore’s third goal of the season would come off of a penalty kill handed to Dallas. The play started with a shot on Bishop which was deflected into the corner, passed up to Carrier by Reaves, then passed to Theodore who would backhand a shot right under the pad of Ben Bishop and in.
Next up came a goal from Jason Dickinson, his fourth banked in on the season thus far, the goal coming off a 3-on-2 featuring Alex Radulov, Corey Perry and Dickinson. Radulov would pass the puck to Jason Dickinson in the middle of the ice who carried it to the hashmarks and launched a quick wrist shot past Jordan Subban, making it 3-1 Dallas.
Into the game’s third period, the Golden Knights would light the lamp once again with a backhanded shot from centreman Paul Stastny off of a pass from right-winger Mark Stone. This would bring the Las Vegas within a goal of the Dallas Stars, now leading 3-2.
As the final frame continued in Dallas, Alex Radulov would score again, this time, being banked on the power play later on in the period after a shot from John Klingberg. This would be the case after the puck bounced into the slot before getting picked up by the Russian right-winger who would take it to the far post and shoot it past Subban while doing so with ease.
The three stars of the night were:
Third Star- Esa Lindell who was on the ice for three of the Dallas Stars’ goals as well as notching one himself. Lindell never shy’s away from joining the rush offensively while also staying solid defensively. He’s never afraid to get in the shot lane and block a shot as seen from his one blocked shot last night.
Second Star- John Klingberg who unfortunately couldn’t score a goal last night. He assisted on three of the Stars goals for three points as well as staying on the ice for 18:03. Klingberg’s impact was felt all over the ice with his three points, his two blocked shots and his +1.
First Star- Alexander Radulov who notched two goals and one assist for three points, making his presence known to both the scorekeeper as well as goaltender Malcolm Subban. Radulov had a shooting percentage of 40% last night, scoring on two of his five shots against Subban. Radulov was also pretty solid defensively with his one blocked shot and his +1.