Vegas captain Mark Stone made an immediate impact after a two-month absence, scoring quickly in his return. His new linemate Tomas Hertl also netted a goal in his playoff debut for the Golden Knights, who began their Stanley Cup defense with a 4-3 victory over the top-seeded Dallas Stars on Monday night.
“Off to a good start on the road,” Stone said. “That’s key, and the power play was clutch for us.”
Jonathan Marchessault set a franchise record with his 36th postseason goal for Vegas, and Brayden McNabb scored with a 50-foot sniper shot from against the boards in the second period. Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin both recorded two assists.
Hertl and Hanifin were among three key trade acquisitions made by Vegas while Stone was on the long-term injured list following a spleen laceration on Feb. 20. With Stone’s salary not counting toward the NHL’s cap during that time, the Knights could aggressively pursue trades in March.
“Awesome … a lot of fun,” Hertl said about playing with Stone. “Hopefully, we can just keep building every game and getting better and better for our team. I think we will get better and we will score a lot of goals for our team.”
Entering this postseason as the No. 8 seed, the Knights opened in Dallas, where they had clinched the Western Conference Final last year in Game 6. Game 2 of this series is set for Wednesday night.
“If you’re going to knock off the Stanley Cup champions, you’re going to have to bring your A-game every night,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We did some decent things, we did some things well, but we’re chasing the game the whole night from the first shot of the game on. Tough to play from behind against that team.”
Logan Thompson got the start in net for Vegas, stopping 27 shots in his postseason debut. Coach Bruce Cassidy chose him over Adin Hill, who had a 1.99 goals-against average and two shutouts against the Stars in last year’s West final. The two had split starts down the stretch, but Hill struggled with injuries and inconsistent play this season.
Stone, who missed the final 26 games of the regular season, returned to full-contact practice only two days earlier. He quickly made his presence felt, tipping a shot by Hanifin past screened goalie Jake Oettinger during a power play just 1:23 into the game.
“I wouldn’t be more happy for any guy than him,” Marchessault said. “He’s been going through a lot of adversity the past few years. The fact that he comes back and gets big goals like that, it’s unbelievable to have a guy like that on your team. Especially as your leader.”
Vegas led 2-0 when Marchessault scored off a pass from Ivan Barashev. Marchessault and William Karlsson are the only Knights who have played in all 89 playoff games for the franchise, which has made the postseason in seven of its eight seasons.
Marchessault’s goal came just a minute after the Stars thought they had tied the game on a goal by Ryan Suter. However, Suter’s goal was disallowed due to an offside call against Mason Marchment after a coach’s challenge and an official review.
The Stars received goals from captain Jamie Benn, Jason Robertson, and Marchment, who scored with 8:14 remaining.
Benn took a long pass from Wyatt Johnston, charged toward the net, made a slick move, and slid the puck through Thompson’s legs to bring the Stars to 2-1.
Oettinger, an All-Star this season, had allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of his last 11 regular-season games. He made 11 saves.
He gave up three goals in the first period, including Hertl’s tally just three seconds into a Dallas penalty. Hertl won the faceoff, moved to the front of the net, took a pass from Hanifin, and scored for a 3-1 lead.
Only 40 seconds later, Robertson scored after rookie Logan Stankoven forced a turnover from Stone near the blue line.
