Stars edge Golden Knights in Game 4, even Western 1st Round series

LAS VEGAS -- Jake Oettinger made 32 saves for the Dallas Stars in a 4-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.

It was the Stars' second straight win on the road to even the best-of-7 series. Game 5 will return to Dallas on Wednesday.

“It’s not surprising to anyone in this room (to come back from down 0-2 in the series),” Oettinger said. “We felt good about our game in Dallas, it just didn’t go the way we wanted to. Series go a million different ways. It’s not always how you draw it up. Teams have back from down 3-0, 3-1. It’s not over unless you give up. No one in here is giving up.”

Evgenii Dadonov, Ty Dellandrea and Roope Hintz each scored his first goal of the playoffs for Dallas, which is the No. 1 seed from the Central Division and Western Conference.

“Tonight was [Oettinger's] best night. Third period, he locked it down and made some huge saves,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “When he gets in that zone, he's a really tough guy to beat. I like how our group is playing around him and defending around him. But you know, we bent a little bit tonight. You knew they were going to push back, and you know, he made some critical saves at key times. So, we're going to need that. ... He's got to be one of our best players, but I feel like he's in that zone.”

Michael Amadio and Jack Eichel scored, and Logan Thompson made 28 saves for Vegas, which is the second wild card.

“So here we are, tied 2-2. All close games,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “So, we have to be the team that makes the right plays in the next game like we did up there on the last trip. I don't think it was our best game. I don't think it was theirs in Dallas, but we made the plays at the right time to win the hockey game. We played winning hockey in the third period. That will be the task in front of us now.”

Amadio gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 14:25 of the first period. Oettinger stopped his initial redirection, but he was able to swat the rebound just over the goal line.

Dadonov tied it 1-1 at 17:52, roofing a shot off the mask of Thompson from along the goal line.

Eichel put Vegas back in front 2-1 at 3:09 of the second period. He jammed in a rebound after Jonathan Marchessault's shot on a 3-on-2 rush hit the right post.

“It was a step up from the last game (a 3-2 overtime loss on Saturday) where they totally dominated,” Vegas forward William Karlsson said. “I thought we had scoring chances. It's sport. It’s going to bounce one way the other day and bounce the other way the next day. So, we're just going to regroup and focus on the next game.”

Wyatt Johnston tied it 2-2 at 9:45 with a power-play goal.

“We lost the momentum a little bit in second period. They got their power-play goal, and after that they generated another power play,” Marchessault said. “They were able to get a goal in the last two minutes. So, I think that's an unfortunate bounce. But I mean, it's momentum swings in the playoffs, and I don't think we managed that well today.”

Dellandrea gave the Stars a 3-2 lead at 18:34 of the second when Craig Smith's shot from a sharp angle deflected in off his chest.

“It’s the playoffs,” Dellandrea said. “It’s just about trying to win a game for this group. Everybody’s been playing well. I’m just trying to help the group and keep that going for them.”

Hintz scored an empty-net goal at 18:38 of the third period for the 4-2 final. The goal came shortly after he blocked a one-timer from Noah Hanifin.

“You got to pay a price to win in this league,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “That was a perfect example.”