They only scored four goals in the round robin. Now they’re one win away from their first Stanley Cup Final since 2000. The Dallas Stars have proved all their critics wrong all postseason and have done it on the backs of their savvy veterans and their young stud defensemen Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg. The Stars are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and they’ve got the Golden Knights on the rope.
After a first period where nothing got past either goaltender, the second period is where both teams would finally strike and it would be the Golden Knights that would strike first. Alec Martinez would convert a slick cross ice feed from Nate Schmidt and ripped a clapper past Anton Khudobin for a 1-0 lead at 7:44 of the 2nd. Scoring the first goal was exactly what the Knights needed in a crucial game four but the Stars were not about to let them runaway with the game. The Stars were pushing for that lock down 3-1 series lead. With the Knights ahead and playing with more confidence, one of the Stars’ key offseason acquisitions, Joe Pavelski, would come through huge.
Capitalizing on a brutal Golden Knights turnover, Pavelski would flip the puck past Robin Lehner on the backhand to tie the game for the Stars. This Pavelski was the one the Stars had hoped for all season and they were finally getting their money’s worth. Pavelski has been absolute dynamite during the postseason and has come up big in big moments. The Stars and Knights were now tied one to one with both trying to get that ever important go-ahead go. The Stars would prove everyone wrong and Jamie Benn, the captain, would be the hero that the Stars needed.
Benn would jump on a rebound just a few feet in front of the net and rip the puck past Robin Lehner for a 2-1 lead. The Stars took the lead in a game many had thought the Knights would win and would end up holding on all the way through the 3rd period.
Three stars of the game:
3. Anton Khudobin
- Joe Pavelski
- Jamie Benn
You can follow Russell and his friends over at Skyscraper Sports on Twitter at @SkySportsNYPod.
One thought on “Benn Scores Game Winner, Stars Up 3-1”