Stars confident they can make historic comeback in West Final

DALLAS --Joe Pavelski had a wry smile on his face when asked about coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having been on the frustrating end of that scenario nearly 10 years ago.

"They're not fun when you're on the other side," said the forward, who played for the San Jose Sharks when they were up 3-0 and lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 Western Conference First Round.

"The one against L.A., yeah, you never think it could happen. Guys are competing. … there were a couple of tight games. And you don't want to be in those situations but when you're on the other side, you understand it can happen. It's happened before. It's such a fine line this time of year."

The Stars are hoping they're the latest team to pull off the rare feat of winning four in a row after being down 3-0. They'll continue the comeback attempt against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, TVAS, SN).

Dallas will once again be without forward Jamie Benn, who will serve the second of his two-game suspension for his cross-check on Vegas forward Mark Stone 1:53 into Game 3 on Tuesday. They'll also be without forward Evgenii Dadonov, who will miss his second game with a lower-body injury sustained in a collision with teammate Roope Hintz in the first period of Game 3.

Despite missing those two players, the Stars avoided elimination with their 3-2 overtime victory at home against the Golden Knights in Game 4 on Thursday, Pavelski scoring the game-winner at 3:18.

As they prepare for Game 5, do the Stars believe in momentum?

"We don't have much choice but to believe in it, right? That's where we're at," Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Friday. "I do believe in it, and I think there's always a team that puts itself in this spot and climbs out of it. Doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that, why not us?"

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It hasn't happened since 2014, when the Kings became the fourth team out of 205 instances in NHL history to come back from a three-game deficit. The other three were the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final, the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1975 quarterfinals, and the Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Stars are feeling more confident now, but optimistic words from others never hurt.

Forward Luke Glendening got a quick pep talk from former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo following Game 4.

"It was cool to meet him, but he just said 'That's one' and 'Go to Vegas and you know we'll be waiting for you when you get back,'" Glendening said.

To do that, the Stars will have to be at their best, which they don't believe they've been yet.

"I think Game 2 (a 3-2 overtime loss) was as close as you can get to a pretty good game from us," Stars forward Mason Marchment said. "I think they had 10 shots through five minutes into the third period there. So I think if we bring that and bring the energy, we're tough to beat. So, a lot of the stuff is on us, and I think we're ready for it."

Daniel Briere played on the 2010 Philadelphia team that came back from down three games. The Flyers also trailed the Bruins 3-0 late in the first period of Game 7 before they responded with four unanswered goals. Briere scored the tying goal in the second period before Simon Gagne scored the winner on a power play in the third.

"The longer you keep it going, the more pressure builds on the other side," said Briere, who was named Flyers general manager May 11, removing the interim tag he had held since March 10. "When you get to that point, I think that's all you're trying to do. You're trying to push it as long as you can, so the pressure starts building on the other team."

Justin Williams, a forward for the Kings during that 2014 comeback against the Sharks, remembers the confidence Los Angeles felt in that series despite the 0-3 start.

"We hadn't played great (the first three games), but we had that championship pedigree, that kind of swagger from two years ago, and losing in the conference final the year before, that we can do anything," he said of the Kings, who won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and won it again in 2014.

"Winning Game 4 was big, but I think winning Game 5, after that we were confident we would win. We thought we could win in Games 4 and 5, but we were pretty confident we could win after we won Game 5 in San Jose 3-0."

The Stars are still alive, still have a chance to become the fifth team in League history to overcome a three-game deficit. They've still got quite the road ahead of them, but the belief is there.

"You're going good, all of a sudden you look and you're in a 3-0 hole," Pavelski said after the game Thursday. "Couple of overtime losses (including 4-3 in overtime in Game 1) and play some good hockey along the way, and you just have to keep putting your game out there and having the belief that we can buy more time and earn more time.

"So, we'll see where this goes. We're excited about tonight, we'll get some rest, and we'll look to do it again, keep trying to throw a little doubt in their minds."

NHL.com staff writers Amalie Benjamin and Tom Gulitti contributed to this report