Golden Knights recap: Ivan Barbashev continues to produce
At a glance
Knights lead series 3-0
■ Game 1 — Knights 4, Stars 3, OT
■ Game 2 — Knights 3, Stars 2, OT
■ Game 3 — Knights 4, Stars 0
■ Game 4 — 5 p.m. Thursday, American Airlines Center (ESPN)
■ Game 5* — 5 p.m. Saturday, T-Mobile Arena (KTNV-13)
■ Game 6* — 5 p.m. Monday, American Airlines Center (ESPN)
■ Game 7* — 6 p.m. May 31, T-Mobile Arena (ESPN)
* If necessary. All games will be broadcast on KKGK (98.9 FM, 1340 AM)
RJ’s three stars
3. Knights forward Nicolas Roy — Roy had a game-high five hits and added two assists.
His first assist was particularly relevant. Roy retreated to help clear the puck after the Stars couldn’t convert on a short-handed break and pushed the puck back into the offensive zone, where Ivan Barbashev scored on a power-play goal.
Roy’s second assist came on Alex Pietrangelo’s goal in the second period, which completed the scoring.
2. Knights goaltender Adin Hill — The unlikely hero continued his stellar postseason run with the first playoff shutout of his career.
Hill wasn’t asked to make many spectacular saves, but he was challenged several times and responded. He made 34 stops and tied a franchise record with his fifth straight postseason win.
The Knights have 11 shutouts in 80 postseason games, more than any other team since they entered the NHL.
1. Knights forward Ivan Barbashev — He has lifted the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues, but never had three points in a postseason game until Tuesday.
Barbashev picked up an assist on Jonathan Marchessault’s early goal, then converted near the end of a five-minute power play to extend the lead to 2-0.
The third point came on an assist to Pietrangelo just after a power play had expired in the second period.
Barbashev, who had nine points in 50 playoff games with the Blues, has 13 in 14 games with the Knights this season.
Key play
Penalty on Dallas forward Jamie Benn at 1:53 of the first period
It was 1-0 less than two minutes into the game when the Stars captain committed a dangerous and silly cross-checking penalty, driving his stick into the head of Mark Stone after knocking him to the ice.
Benn was sent off for a five-minute major penalty and also ejected. That left Dallas with 11 forwards, and the Stars would be further short-handed when forward Evgenii Dadonov suffered a lower-body injury later in the first period.
The Knights struggled to generate much offensive zone time for much of the ensuing power play, but scored on a counter after the Stars failed to convert a two-on-one break that could have tied the game.
Key stat
9-0 — The Knights have won all nine games in which star forward Jack Eichel has recorded a point.
Eichel had an assist on the first goal, scored by Marchessault 71 seconds into the game. Eichel has six goals and 10 assists in the first postseason appearance of his career.
On Marchessault’s goal, Eichel showed his trademark patience and allowed Marchessault to pop free before zipping the puck across the ice right on his stick for the finish.
Knights quotable
“I guess everything was just hitting me tonight. I noticed it, but it’s whatever.”
— Hill, on having popcorn thrown on him as he took the ice after the second intermission
Stars quotable
“He made a mistake, and he feels really badly about it. I don’t think anyone in the building feels worse than he does about it. I’m not going to pile on him. He’s been a leader here for his entire career and leads by example every day on and off the ice. Fortunately, Mark Stone is OK, and we have to live with the consequences.”
— Coach Pete DeBoer, on Benn’s penalty that left the Stars short-handed and could lead to a penalty from the NHL
