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The Dallas Stars won Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday at Rogers Place in Edmonton against the Vegas Golden Knights 1-0.
The Golden Knights landed at the gate Marc-Andre FleuryHe had only played three games in the postseason, but won them all. The stars were as always Anton Judobin between the posts. Fleury finished with 24 saves, while Khudobin earned his first shutout in a postseason game with 25 saved shots.
“Fleury was great for them, as was Khudobin for us,” said Rick Bowness, the all-star coach, praising both goalkeepers.
Video: DAL @ VGK, Sp1: Khudobin shutout against Golden Knights
The stars seemed fresher and more agile on the skates from the start. They quickly gained an excess of shots on goal and opportunities and made life difficult for the Golden Knights offense with disciplined but physically focused defensive work.
“This is all part of our plan,” the defender analyzed. Jamie Oleksiak use defensively. “If there are five of us working as a unit and playing responsibly, that leads to success, and the game was a good example of that today. Our forwards supported us well and came back, especially in the first two-thirds. That makes our job much easier. “
In the third minute of play, the stars rewarded their offensive effort with a 1-0 victory with their first shot on goal of the game. A drink of Jamie benn was initially used by defenders Zach White Cloud blocked, John klingberg However, he hit the puck that was free in the slot and defeated Fleury with a shot to the wrist.
“We started strong, this is our game,” Bowness said. “We only scored one goal, but we had a lot of opportunities. Sometimes the puck comes in, sometimes it doesn’t, but you just have to fight and stand your ground.”
Klingberg was not only the best player to the stars for his goal. The 28-year-old Swede shined in his role as defense chief. He played hard when necessary and fast when possible, repeatedly staging the attack of the stars.
“Klingberg has been emotionally involved all the time, he is here to win,” the coach praised the defender. “His physical game is fantastic, he had some strong controls today. What is impressive for me as a coach and for the teammates is his willingness to take control from time to time to start a play. He is stable on defense and leaves it.” . Puck walks well and moves well with the puck. “
Video: DAL @ VGK, Sp1: Klingberg meets early lead
In the second third, Dallas showed perfect defensive work over long stretches and closed the neutral zone so well that Vegas barely spent time in the third of the stars. The Golden Knights got to their first shot of the third after just under nine minutes. At the same time, the stars continued to create opportunities, but Fleury kept the Golden Knights in the game.
“This is ice hockey for the Dallas Stars,” Bowness said. “We ran, we were on the opponent, we created a lot of offense from a good defensive structure. We couldn’t have played better in the second period.”
In the final third, the Golden Knights seemed much more alert and reached more shared games and shots on goal. Especially defenders Nate schmidt tried to equalize, he gave 6 of 25 shots on goal for his team.
The longer the last third ran, the more Vegas pushed to call. While the ratio of goal shots in the first two-thirds was clearly to the stars with 23:12, the Golden Knights tied the stats in the final section with 25 shots. However, Judobin kept his goal clean and ensured the victory of the stars.
Game 2 takes place Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. CEST; NHL.tv).
Video: Khudobin, Klingberg defeat the Golden Knights with Stars
