Joe Pavelski admits he even more appreciates his big playoff goals as his career progresses. His latest goal kept the Dallas Stars’ season alive.
“Just really living in the moment,” Pavelski said. “A tremendous feeling, and glad we could play another game and go from there and try to extend it.”
The 38-year-old Pavelski scored on a power play at 3:18 of overtime — a one-timer from the left circle to the far post — and the Stars avoided a sweep in the Western Conference Final with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Jason Robertson scored twice in Dallas’s first career multigoal playoff game. The team played without suspended captain Jamie Benn.
“We’re looking for goals, and that’s kind of the responsibility I put on myself,” Robertson said. “I know these playoffs have been tough. … I got the bounces we needed tonight.”
Jake Oettinger had 37 saves, bouncing back after being pulled 7:10 into Game 3 after allowing three goals on five shots.
The Stars had the man advantage in overtime after Brayden McNabb’s high-sticking penalty on Ty Dellandrea. Fifty seconds into the power play, Pavelski scored on a pass from Miro Heiskanen. This was their first win in five OT games this postseason — Vegas won the first two games of this series in overtime.
It was only the second Vegas penalty of the game, both high-sticking calls against McNabb. His penalty on Pavelski late in the first period set up Robertson’s first goal.
Pavelski, in his 15th NHL season and still seeking his first Stanley Cup, scored his ninth goal in 12 games this postseason, the most among all active players with 73 career postseason goals.
“He’s ageless. … I’ve seen that movie over and over again. Never gets old,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “He lives for those moments, and he wants to be in those situations. Always has, and delivers almost every time.”
Benn was suspended for two games for his cross-check on Vegas captain Mark Stone in the first two minutes of Game 3. Benn will also miss Game 5 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Vegas. Adin Hill had his five-game winning streak snapped with 39 saves, including a game-saver on rookie Fredrik Olofsson’s attempt late in regulation.
“Our effort wasn’t good enough. Closing a series is probably the hardest game in a series, right, so it just wasn’t good enough from our group,” Marchessault said. “It was still a one-goal game in overtime. It was right there for us.”
Karlsson and Marchessault are among six original Vegas players from the inaugural 2017-18 season that ended with a loss to the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas missed a chance to complete a sweep a night after the Florida Panthers finished off a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
Vegas took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period when Marchessault scored on a pass from McNabb, another original Golden Knight.
Robertson’s tying goal late in the period came on a ricochet off the backboard just seconds after he had another shot hit the post. He has six goals in the playoffs after becoming the first Dallas player to record a 100-point season.
On his first goal late in the first period that tied it 1-1, Robertson deflected Heiskanen’s shot from just inside the blue line. As Hill tried to secure the puck, Robertson knocked it free and swiped it into the net.
With former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and wrestling legend Ric Flair in attendance, Dallas avoided being swept in the playoffs for the first time since 2001 against St. Louis in the second round. This was the Stars’ 21st playoff series since then.
The Golden Knights scored first again — though not as quickly as in Game 3, which led to the earliest exit ever for Oettinger.
Karlsson pushed the puck up and skated to the front of the net after passing to Nicolas Roy. Reilly Smith’s shot was deflected by Karlsson past Oettinger only 4:17 into the game for his eighth goal this postseason.
“There were a lot of rush chances,” said Smith, also with Vegas since the beginning. “I don’t think we did a good enough job of making it difficult on them. So we get another opportunity in two days.”