Stars expected strong response from Golden Knights

The unanimous sentiment among the Dallas Stars is that the skate was on the other foot during Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Golden Knights on Tuesday in Edmonton, Alberta.

And so now let the series begin.

“We knew they were going to come out and make a big push,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said after the Knights broke a scoreless tie with three second-period goals en route to a 3-0 victory that tied the series.

The Knights took command on goals by Paul Stastny, William Karlsson and Tomas Nosek as the Stars were forced to abandon the tight-checking style that carried them to the Game 1 win. The Knights made them pay by controlling the puck and winning 61 percent of the faceoffs.

“I thought we were OK; we survived the first period,” Bowness said. “The second we got absolutely killed in the faceoff circle. They controlled the puck, and when you’re doing that, you control the tempo.”

Added Dallas center Mattias Janmark: “I think we took charge in the first game in the first period and they ended up on their heels, and today it was a little bit reversed.”

Knights’ turn to hit

The Stars caught the Knights flat-footed in Game 1 and scored the game’s only goal on their first shot. With Vegas tough man Ryan Reaves back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for a hit to the head in the Vancouver series, it was a different story in Game 2 as the Knights outhit the Stars 55-47.

But just when it appeared that one goal might win it again, a Vegas side that had been struggling to find offense erupted for three in the second period.

“We had a couple of chances in the second period, but when you’re on your heels, you’re going to get scored on. And we did,” Janmark said. “They kept rolling, and we took penalties. They were in charge the whole game. The last game, we were in charge.”

Dallas feels the pinch

When the Stars’ defensemen started pinching in the attacking zone after the Knights took a 2-0 lead, Nosek scored on a pretty three-on-one to make it 3-0.

“Vegas is a great team,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. “They’ve been the favorites all along, and you expect them to respond.”

It was a critical victory for the Knights. Since the NHL adopted the conference format for the 1981-82 season, teams that have won the first two games went on to win the series 31 of 33 times (.939).

After Tuesday’s game got away, Bowness pulled goalie Anton Khudobin, who saved all 25 shots he faced in the series opener, for rookie Jake Oettinger. The 21-year-old native of Lakeville, Minnesota, was the first goalie since the expansion era of 1967-68 to make his NHL debut in a conference final. He stopped all five shots he faced.

“You put a kid into the net for his first NHL action, you hope that it can spark some life,” Bowness said of the decision to yank Khudobin. “We had a better third period. But Anton was the only reason it was (just) 3-0. Without Anton, it’s 6-0 after the second period.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.