Jack Eichel scored the winning goal for the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime, securing a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in a thrilling rematch of the Western Conference Final.
“It’s not how you draw it up,” Eichel said. “But I’ll take it, and don’t ask how.”
Eichel scored 1:57 into overtime after initially missing the puck, marking a dramatic end to the game. The Knights concluded a five-game road trip with their first visit to Dallas since winning the Western Conference Final last May.
After maneuvering in their zone, Eichel moved toward the net and was skating past defenseman Thomas Harley when he attempted to shoot but missed the puck, which continued forward.
“I was trying to pull it back and shoot, use the defenseman as a screen,” Eichel said about his eighth-season goal. “I fanned on it a little bit, the puck goes through his legs, and it’s just me and the goalie. I tried to go around him, and luckily it went in.”
This was the fourth consecutive regular-season game between Vegas and Dallas to go beyond regulation. Vegas won a shootout at home on Oct. 17 after the Stars won shootouts twice last season. Additionally, three of their six Western Conference Final games last May went overtime.
“Good hockey game. Two good teams,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We did some good things in overtime, had some looks. They found a way to win the game. But, big picture, it was an important point.”
Michael Amadio scored a power-play goal for the Knights (14-4-2), who went 2-2-1 on the trip and have accumulated 30 points in their first 20 games for the third time in franchise history.
“The old .500 on the road, we got that,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I think we expect a lot more than .500 on the road, but that’s how it ends for this team. That’s a good mental checklist to ensure you get half the points.”
Vegas goalie Adin Hill made 32 saves, while Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 24 shots, including crucial saves against Paul Cotter and William Karlsson in the last six minutes of regulation.
The Stars, leading the Central Division with 26 points, tied the game 1-1 in the final minute of the second period when Roope Hintz scored his eighth goal of the season after a series of swift passes that spanned the length of the ice.
Thomas Harley initiated the play by retrieving the puck behind the Stars’ net and pushing it past the center ice. Jason Robertson quickly passed it to Joe Pavelski, who made a cross-ice pass to Hintz for a shot from the left circle that slid under Hill’s blocker pad.
Vegas took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period on a power play. Michael Amadio’s 40-foot wrister bounced off Oettinger, and Chandler Stephenson passed to Nicholas Roy, who spun and pushed the puck across the crease to Amadio, who snapped it into the net for his third goal.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: Host Arizona on Saturday night.
- Stars: Host Calgary on Friday night.
