Steve Marcus
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone, center, celebrates with Chandler Stephenson, left, and Brett Howden after scoring against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series at T-Mobile Arena Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Monday, April 29, 2024 | 2 a.m.
The first time the Golden Knights flashed the near-unstoppable potential that they eventually turned into the Stanley Cup in last year’s playoffs was in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Winnipeg Jets.
Tied at the second intermission and at risk of falling into a 2-0 series hole, Vegas ignited with an emotional response led by captain Mark Stone in the form of a barrage of high-danger chances. Stone scored twice and Vegas dispatched Winnipeg 5-2 in a performance that made its uninspired 5-1 Game 1 loss feel like a distant memory.
That sequence of games was on coach Bruce Cassidy’s mind a year later in the aftermath of this season’s first playoff loss Saturday night, a 3-2 overtime setback to Dallas that was more lopsided than the score and extra period suggests.
“The only thing I can look for in comparison (to tonight) is last year, the first game against Winnipeg, we weren’t very good either,” Cassidy said. “That was Game 1 of the series, not Game 3, so you were kind of dipping your toe in, but we’re going to need to be a lot better on Monday.”
All year, and especially since the start of the playoffs last week, the Golden Knights have trumpeted their championship experience as something that’s hardened their resolve and that they can put in use going forward.
But that’s easy to say when everything is going smoothly, and mostly everything has gone smoothly for Vegas this year. The Golden Knights had some rough patches in the regular season, and were technically only a few points into the playoffs on a couple occasions late, but their postseason fate was never really in doubt.
They never dipped below 80% to make the playoffs by the betting market and publicly-available statistical models. A historically-strong start to the season insulated the defending champions from much real turbulence.
That will change if they lose a second straight to the Stars tonight in Game 4, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. If Dallas regains home-ice advantage by tying the series at 2-2, Vegas will be significant underdogs to advance — just like it would have been to Winnipeg last year if it didn’t turn it on to avoid losing back-to-back home games.
Now might be the first real time Vegas can prove its long-touted calm under pressure and resilient nature. The Golden Knights understand the gravity of the moment, and they’re not backing down.
“There are areas we need to improve on but we’re still in a good spot going into Monday night,” Stone said. “We’ve just got to finally play our best game.”
To play their best game, the Golden Knights may need Stone to play his best game since returning from a lacerated spleen at the start of the playoffs. Coming off a back injury for last year’s postseason, Stone struggled mightily in Game 1 against Winnipeg before sparking the Golden Knights in the Game 2 win.
He hasn’t played quite as poorly to start this year’s playoffs, but he hasn’t been any sort of difference-maker either. Stone scored on a power-play deflection in Game 1, but since has made little tangible impact.
He’s tied for a team-worst -2 in plus/minus, and the advanced statistics are just as unflattering. The Golden Knights have a 32.62% expected goal share when Stone is on the ice at even strength, per Natural Stat Trick.
Vegas’ numbers in that department are poor across the board, but it’s more alarming when it pertains to one of its best players.
Cassidy’s mix-up of the second and third lines in Game 3 might have been largely an attempt to get Stone going by pairing him with a familiar wing in Brett Howden. The Game 3 second line of Stone, Howden and Chandler Stephenson thrived in last year’s playoffs but didn’t regain the form in their first outing this year.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer is not banking on the disharmony continuing though.
“Obviously (the Golden Knights) were off a little bit and that helped,” he said. “You know they’re going to fix that.”
One of Vegas’ best attributes during last year’s championship run was rebounding from losses. The Golden Knights went 4-1 off a defeat.
The one exception was against the Stars in the Western Conference Final when Dallas took Game 4 3-2 in overtime and then Game 5 4-2.
The Stars have reason to believe they’ll be even better in this year’s Game 4. Neither the Golden Knights nor the Stars held full practices Sunday but DeBoer said both Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa skated.
That could put them on track to return tonight after the pair missed Game 3 with undisclosed injuries.
It’s not going to be easy for the Golden Knights to bounce back but they’re not expecting it to be anyway. They managed to handle playoff adversity successfully last year.
It’s time to see if the trait carries over into a new campaign as seamlessly as they tout.
The Stars feel like they’re up for the challenge.
“I think when both teams are on, it’s really hard for either team to look like that,” DeBoer said of the Golden Knights in Game 3. “It’s probably the first time in the series a team grabbed that size of an advantage for that long of a period. What I like about our game is that it’s building. Game 2 was better than Game 1. Game 3 was better than Game 2. That’s a great sign.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or