Knights-Stars recap: Lineup change works, but series still evens up
Series at a glance
Series tied 2-2
■ Game 1 — Knights 4, Stars 3
■ Game 2 — Knights 3, Stars 1
■ Game 3 — Stars 3, Knights 2, OT
■ Game 4 — Stars 4, Knights 2
■ Game 5 — Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center (KMCC-34, ESPN)
■ Game 6 — Friday, TBD at T-Mobile Arena (KMCC-34)
■ Game 7* — May 5, TBD at American Airlines Center (KMCC-34)
*If necessary
RJ’s three stars
3. Knights right wing Michael Amadio — He took advantage of his opportunity to get back in the lineup. He scored a goal and was a plus-1 on Monday. He brought juice to center William Karlsson’s line, which was by far the Knights’ best.
2. Stars right wing Wyatt Johnston— He only scored once after his spectacular two-goal performance in Game 3 — which included the overtime winner — but Johnston was once again the most dangerous man on the ice. The 20-year-old had a team-high six shots on goal, though he was also on the ice for both goals the Stars allowed.
1. Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger — He looked as comfortable as he ever has in the playoffs against the Knights. He closed the door the final 37 minutes after allowing a pair of rebound goals to Amadio and center Jack Eichel. Oettinger finished with 33 saves in total.
Key play
Left wing Ty Dellandrea’s go-ahead goal with 1:26 remaining in the second period.
The Stars were resilient throughout the game, rallying from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits thanks to goals from left wing Evgenii Dadonov and Johnston. They then started to tilt the ice in their favor late in the second.
It led to Dellandrea’s goal on a sustained shift in the offensive zone.
Right wing Craig Smith fired a shot that was well in front of the net, but it struck Dellandrea in the chest. The puck fell into the net to give Dallas its first lead of the night. The Stars never relinquished it.
Key stat
0-1: One of the keys to the Knights’ Stanley Cup run last season was their ability to bounce back from a loss.
They couldn’t do that Monday.
The Knights played better than they did in Saturday’s disappointing 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3, but it wasn’t enough to give them a 3-1 series lead. They’re instead headed back to Dallas tied 2-2 with the Stars, shifting the series to a best-of-three.
The Knights were much better at putting their foot down last season. They were 5-1 following a loss in the playoffs last year. They’re 1-0 this postseason, but they have another chance to right the ship Wednesday in Game 5.
Notable
Coach Bruce Cassidy made a lineup change that paid immediate dividends Monday.
Cassidy elected to put Amadio in for the first time this postseason and make trade-deadline acquisition Anthony Mantha a healthy scratch.
It appeared to work. Amadio scored the Knights’ first goal and his line with Karlsson and left wing Brett Howden was the team’s best much of the contest.
The team finished with a 17-3 edge in shot attempts when the trio was on the ice at five-on-five.
Knights quotable
“It was a step up from the last game where they totally dominated. I thought we had scoring chances, but that’s sports. It’s going to bounce one way one day and bounce the other way the next day. We just have to regroup and focus on the next game.”
— Karlsson
Stars quotable
“You knew they were going to push in the first and they did, but I never felt like we were overwhelmed at any moment. They had the advantage in the shots, but I thought they were running around chasing hits. Our goal at the end of the first was a big one, then we talked about using that over-aggressiveness of them chasing hits against them. Then I thought in the second period we really took control of the game.”
— Dallas coach Pete DeBoer
Adam Hill Review-Journal
