Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images
The Dallas Stars face a must-win Game 3 at home on Tuesday night, trailing the Vegas Golden Nights 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals.
And it all went wrong.
Captain Jamie Benn was ejected within minutes of the opening faceoff, Jake Oettinger gave up three goals on five shots in the first period before getting the hook and the Golden Knights defeated to a 4-0 victory that put them one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.
B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
Eichel with a WICKED cross-ice dish for the goal 😱 pic.twitter.com/ORQrxHy2Yh
B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
Vegas took advantage of the long powerplay 👀 pic.twitter.com/rbhMg8lWjU
B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
VEGAS IS NOW 3-0 JUST 7 MINUTES IN 😱
Wedgewood is now in the game replaced by Oettinger pic.twitter.com/l4r7JVLfes
B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
and that would be a 4-0 hockey game… 😱 pic.twitter.com/pxsG5uJCuj
Jonathan Marchessault, Ivan Barbashev, William Carrier and Alex Pietrangelo scored for Vegas. Barbashev and Nicolas Roy added two assists each.
Benn set the tone for the entire game with a dizzying header cross-check into the face of Mark Stone, with the Golden Knights already leading 1-0.
B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
Jamie Benn was given a 5 minute major in this game pic.twitter.com/NZESKh2JtL
He was then given a five-minute game misconduct, ejected and the Golden Knights scored on the ensuing power play to go up 2-0.
And NHL Twitter let him know about it:
Julie Stewart-Binks @JSB_TV
What is Jamie Benn doing here? Dirty game. 5-minute major & amp; a game foul is the right call. pic.twitter.com/5ycSZsmnfx
John Shannon @Shannonhl
Benn walked into the night. Major and Game Misconduct…crazy only 1:53 of game action.#StanleyCupPlayoffs
Greg Wyshynski @vyshynski
Punishment continued. Game error for Benn. Not at all like the captain! https://t.co/mKtLMnerSA
And then there was Oettinger.
In seven minutes, he let the Stars down by three goals, and it was clear that he was not sharp from the start.
Suffice it to say, NHL Twitter has thoughts:
Brian Rea @BrienRea
Difficult growing pains for Jake Oettinger in this postseason run.
It’s hard to see — but this kind of mental scar tissue can pay dividends down the road.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is 4-5 and has given up 26 goals in his first 12 career playoff appearances. https://t.co/H5fpAEk4Ii
There are blowouts, and then there are games where one team appears to drain the will to compete from their opponent. It’s the latter, and it’s hard to imagine a scenario where this series of Stars is actually made.
Perhaps no picture sums up the night better than a sad Max Domi trying to scrap a visibly amused Nic Hauge, who simply stops him:
B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce
Nic Hauge is straight up grinning as Max Domi tries to scrap ðŸ˜
(through @Sportsnet) < a href="https://t.co/7ta885JZFW">pic.twitter.com/7ta885JZFW
The Stars will have to dig deep after Tuesday night. If they repeat the effort in Game 3, they will find themselves with the weekend off.
Game 4 will be in Dallas on Thursday night at 8 pm ET (ESPN).
