Golden Knights recap: William Karlsson keys another comeback
At a glance
Knights lead series 1-0
■ Game 1 — Knights 4, Stars 3, OT
■Game 2 — Noon Sunday, T-Mobile Arena (KTNV-13)
■ Game 3 — 5 p.m. Tuesday, American Airlines Center (ESPN)
■ Game 4 — 5 p.m. Thursday, American Airlines Center (ESPN)
■ Game 5* — 5 p.m. May 27, T-Mobile Arena (KTNV-13)
■ Game 6* — 5 p.m. May 29, 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 Brett Howden— Holden wasn’t much of a factor before a strong effort behind the net that he finished for the winning goal 95 seconds into overtime.
It was the first overtime goal of his career and first game-winner of the season for Howden.
2. Stars forward Roope Hintz —Hintz finished with a game-high three points, racking up two assists and a goal.
After assisting on the game’s first goal, he scored to tie the game 4:01 into the third period and then assisted on Jamie Benn’s game-tying goal in the final two minutes.
Hintz’s three points give him an NHL-high 22 in the postseason — 10 goals and 12 assists in 14 games. He had 25 points in 44 postseason games before this season.
1. Knights forward William Karlsson — One of the original Knights picked a good time for his first multip0int game of the postseason.
Karlsson collected a Zach Whitecloud shot that sailed wide of the net as he skated toward the far post and put it past Jake Oettinger to tie the game 1-1 in the second period. He then gathered a puck in the center of the offensive zone, juked past two defenders and fired a shot between the pads of Oettinger to give the Knights their first lead at 1:19 of the third period.
As usual, he was outstanding defensively.
Key play
Howden’s goal at 1:35 of overtime
A golden opportunity appeared lost when Howden couldn’t quite get his stick on a pass from Mark Stone with plenty of empty net to shoot at 90 seconds into overtime, but Howden didn’t give up on the play.
He fought for the puck behind the net and jammed it back toward goaltender Jake Oettinger, who lost his balance and helped push the puck back over the line for a goal.
Celebration ensued as the Knights won Game 1 and improved to 2-0 in overtime games in the postseason. The Stars have lost each of their three Game 1s in the postseason in overtime.
Key stat
6-3 — The Knights’ record in the postseason in games in which their opponent has scored the first goal.
Dallas led 1-0 after the first period on a goal by Jason Robertson before the Knights rallied. They are the only team in the NHL to have a winning record in the postseason when surrendering the first goal.
The Stars are 8-2 when scoring first. Their eight victories are the most of any team when scoring the first goal.
Knights quotable
“It sucks we couldn’t hold on to either of our leads in the third period, but we got the job done quick in overtime. I got a little scared after watching that game last night, but a big win tonight. We came out right from the opening puck drop and played a great hockey game.”
— Goaltender Adin Hill, on winning early in overtime after watching the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers play four OTs on Thursday
Stars quotable
“The good news is the other two ended the right way for us, so that’s what we’ll hope for again. But you have to win some overtime games in the playoffs. We can’t go 0-for-3 or 0-for-4 in the playoffs, so that’s something we’ll have to get fixed quickly.”
— Coach Pete DeBoer, on his team losing three straight Game 1s in overtime in the postseason
Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal
