Articles in Dallas Stars

added 8:10pm,

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FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Stars Owner and Governor Tom Gaglardi today announced that the club has signed General Manager Jim Nill to a two-year contract extension through the 2025-26 season.

"Jim has proven himself to be one of the best general managers in the NHL," Gaglardi said. "He has meticulously built a team through free agency, trades and the NHL Draft that's among the best in the League, while also ensuring that the Stars are championship contenders for years to come. He'll be able to continue his vision of working toward our goal of bringing another Stanley Cup to the state of Texas."

NASHVILLE (June 28, 2023) – Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars is the 2022-23 recipient of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. Voting for this honor was conducted among NHL Club General Managers and a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media at the conclusion of the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Just over six minutes to watch.

from Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

There was a prevailing narrative when Adin Hill took over at goalie for the Golden Knights about how his role was to just not screw things up for a team with the structure in place to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

That the job of the journeyman backup suddenly thrust into starting duties for a championship favorite was to not be solely responsible for derailing those aspirations.

Hill has rejected that storyline with similar confidence and authority to the many shots he has turned away off the sticks of the Oilers and Stars in the past two weeks

The Knights are in position to advance to the Stanley Cup Final with a Game 6 victory Monday over the Stars at American Airlines Center largely because of his efforts, not despite them.

Now they might need even more from a player who has chosen a good time to play at such a high level, leading a postseason run in his first playoff appearance just as he’s about to hit free agency.

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from Taylor Baird at NHL.com,

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

It is easy to say – because it’s logical to project – that there’s no way the Dallas Stars are actually going to win four straight games to save their season against the Vegas Golden Knights.

This conclusion isn’t because the Stars aren’t an excellent team. They are. But so are the Knights.

It’s more math than emotion: only four teams in National Hockey League history have rallied from a 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series, and it has never happened in a conference final, where teams that win the first three games are 46-0 in advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Golden Knights, a 51-win team that had 111 points in the regular season, aren’t going to lose four straight playoff games after losing only three times in the first month of the Stanley Cup tournament.

This Stars’ comeback almost certainly is not happening despite Dallas’ impressive 4-2 road win Saturday in Las Vegas.

But the fantastic thing about sports is that you actually have to play the games.

And ask yourself this: Can the Dallas Stars win two consecutive games? Because that’s all they have to do now after halting the Knights and stealing momentum by winning Games 4 and 5 in the Western Conference Final.

The Stars no longer have to climb Mt. Everest. They just have to get up the Eiger.

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Game highlights are below.

from Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

They knew how hard the push would be, how desperation has this way of lifting a team’s level of play. There would be no celebration for the Golden Knights on Thursday night, no Western Conference title just yet, no Clarence S. Campbell Bowl to take pictures around.

It’s still going, folks.

Dallas apparently has something left in its pursuit of what would be a historic comeback, the Stars having avoided being swept out of this best-of-seven series with a 3-2 overtime victory before a sellout gathering of 18,532 at American Airlines Center.

It was the best we have seen of Dallas in four games.

Certainly when it mattered most.

“Our effort level wasn’t good enough,” Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “Just not good enough for our group. It’s still in overtime, so it was right there for us. They played well defensively. Their desperation was higher than ours, and at this time of year, it’s about who wants it more.”

It’s true, after all: The fourth one is always toughest to get.

read on

NEW YORK (May 24, 2023) – Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn has been suspended for two games for cross-checking Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone during Game 3 of the Western Conference Final in Dallas on Tuesday, May 23, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

If the term of the suspension is not fully served during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the remaining game will be served at the beginning of the 2023-24 regular season.

The incident occurred at 1:42 of the first period. Benn was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking.

Video is below.

NEW YORK (May 24, 2023) – Dallas Stars forward Max Domi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for slashing Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone during Game 3 of the Western Conference Final in Dallas on Tuesday, May 23, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 18:09 of the third period.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Watch the incident below.

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

When the Vegas Golden Knights scored their second overtime winner in as many games, it looked Sunday that they’d not only beaten the Dallas Stars again but might have broken them, too.

It wasn’t simply that the Knights went up 2-0 in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference Final when Chandler Stephenson scored uncontested on a rebound at 1:12 of overtime to give his team a 3-2 win on home ice.

And it wasn't even that the Stars, who were lucky to make it to OT in Friday’s 4-3 Vegas win, were significantly better in Game 2 and appeared to have Sunday’s tight-checking contest under control until Jonathan Marchessault snatched a tying goal for the Knights with 2:22 remaining in regulation time.

The seismic shift for Dallas is that the unflinching Stars beat themselves, displaying vulnerability on a team that looked largely invincible this season when leading into the third period and bouncing back from losses.

The Stars had been 31-0-2 this season — and 8-0 in the playoffs — when leading with 20 minutes to go and, even more incredibly, were 22-1-3 since October with starting goalie Jake Oettinger when coming off a loss.

The Knights shattered that invincibility on Sunday.

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Vegas will head to Dallas up 2-0 after a 3-2 overtime win today.

In my mind the Stars were the better team during the majority of the game but the Golden Knights were able to capitalize on their limited opportunities.

Team Stats

Below watch the game winning goal and the game highlights.

via the NHL PR department,

STARS IN FAMILIAR PLACE, LOOK TO EVEN SERIES SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Game 2 of the Western Conference Final is set for Sunday afternoon on ABC and ESPN+ in the U.S. as well as Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada. The Stars will look to rally from a 1-0 series deficit for the third consecutive round, while the Golden Knights aim to take a 2-0 lead for the third time in franchise history – they have gone on to win the series in the two times they have done so to date.

broadcast information is below

from Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

Bruce Cassidy pumped his fist on the bench as the announced crowd of 18,271 at T-Mobile Arena went wild and Brett Howden and Adin Hill were mobbed on separate areas of the ice.

The Golden Knights coach has described his group as “imperfect” at different times during the playoffs. They’re not without faults. What they are is deep, resilient and committed to winning hockey games by any mean.

That continued in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars on Friday. The Knights allowed the first goal for the ninth time in 12 postseason games. They blew two third-period leads. They still emerged with a 4-3 victory after Howden’s goal 1:35 into overtime.

The Knights continued to stare adversity in the face and fire right back. Their six comeback wins in the playoffs lead the NHL, and they’re 2-0 in overtime.

“Sometimes you have those seasons where you don’t overcome things,” Cassidy said. “We have that group that will this year.”

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Watch the game highlights below.

from Jesse Granger and Saad Yousuf of The Athletic,

When the puck drops for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between Vegas and Dallas on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena, Stars coach Pete DeBoer will find himself in an oddly familiar role as he takes his place on the visitors bench.

It wasn’t that long ago he stood behind the opposite bench in that arena, wearing a Golden Knights lapel. It also hasn’t been that long since he coached against Vegas in the playoffs.

DeBoer’s history with the Golden Knights is long and complicated.

It started as a rivalry in 2017, when the upstart Vegas franchise quickly emerged as an adversary for DeBoer’s Sharks atop the Pacific Division. San Jose was an aging but talented group looking for a title before its window closed. The Golden Knights came out of nowhere to win the series.

Playoff matchups in back-to-back seasons stoked that rivalry, culminating with a fiery seven-game series in 2019 in which DeBoer and then-Vegas coach Gerard Gallant traded verbal barbs that were nearly as fierce as the play on the ice. DeBoer came out on top in the most dramatic way possible, with San Jose erasing a three-goal deficit late in the third period to win in overtime.

Less than nine months later, DeBoer was coaching the Golden Knights.

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from Amalie Benjamin of the NHL's website,

These are four teams that don't always get the headlines and the publicity, that don't come from traditional hockey markets, that have everything to gain from the spot in which they find themselves, here in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. Combined, the Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights have won the Stanley Cup twice, with the Hurricanes winning it in 2006 and the Stars in 1999.

They will begin the next step of trying to make some new history -- and some new fans -- when they start off the conference finals, with the Panthers and Hurricanes playing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday at PNC Arena in Raleigh (8 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, TVAS, SN) and the Stars and Golden Knights playing Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, TVAS, SN).

"A deeper playoff run will draw attention to the unique players that we have that you can come and enjoy watching play," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "What happens in these runs, it's not just about getting excited because of the spectacle of playoff hockey. You want to get the connection to the home crowd too.

"There'll be a whole bunch of people who are going to buy (Panthers forward) Sam Bennett jerseys based on what they saw. And then I can say that about a bunch of different guys."

read on

from Marc Engel of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram,

Much like their first round series against Minnesota, the Stars moved on against Seattle for the same reason. They’re the better team.

The Game 7 victory they celebrated on Monday night was was won years ago. Not on the ice. In the front office.

It was won by Stars GM Jim Nill, and team owner Tom Gaglardi for giving him the space, money, and time to build a team that can win the Stanley Cup.

Drafting and developing young players like starting goalie Jake Oettinger.

Drafting Heiskanen, who is one of the NHL’s top defenseman. Drafting forward Wyatt Johnston, a first round pick in 2021 who scored the Stars second goal on Monday night.

"That was definitely one of the better birthday gifts,” said Johnson, who did score the goal on his birthday. He looks 13, and ... he may actually be 13. (He’s 20).

Drafting winger Jason Robertson, who has struggled to score goals this postseason but has contributed more offense than he’s been given credit.

more on the Stars...