The Vegas Golden Knights face the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the first round of the NHL Playoffs on Monday, April 22, 2024 (4/22/24) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
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Here's what you need to know:
what: NHL regular season
who: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Dallas Stars
when:April 22, 2024 (4/22/24)
time: 9:30pm (Eastern Standard Time)
where: American Airlines Center
tv set:ESPN
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DALLAS (AP) – The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights will meet very early in this NHL playoffs.
Reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas will defend its title as the No. 8 seed in a first-round series that begins Monday night in Dallas, but last year the Knights closed out the Western Conference Finals with a Game 6 victory.
“We're probably a better team than where we ended up,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. “This is a great test for us. When you have the goal of going all the way, you often have to get past the defending champions.”
Seguin is the only player to win a Cup title with the Stars, but he did so 13 years ago as a 19-year-old rookie in Boston. He reached the Stanley Cup Final with Dallas in 2020 after the Western Conference Finals with Vegas.
The Stars have won 17 of their last 21 games to earn the top seed in the West. They set a franchise record with eight 20-goal scorers, the most in the NHL, and All-Star goaltender Jake Oettinger has allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of his past 11 starts.
“We've been playing our best hockey here all along,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said.
Las Vegas won all three regular season games, the last coming on Dec. 9. There was a shootout and overtime before a 6-1 win in Dallas, with 12 different Knights picking up points.
The Knights finished the regular season 13-12-2 without captain Mark Stone (spleen laceration) and were also without defensemen Alex Pietrangelo, Chandler Stevenson, and William Carrier. All returned to practice before the first round series.
“They're a big part of our team,” Las Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’ve managed to persevere toward our first goal of making the playoffs.”
Last year Las Vegas had home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, including the Stanley Cup Final, where they defeated Florida in five games. To bounce back, they'll need to do it as the No. 8 seed, just like the Panthers did last year.
“You never know what's going to happen as soon as you come out,” said Jack Eichel, who finished second on the team with 68 points behind Jonathan Marchessault's 69 points. ”
Is there carryover?
Stars captain Jamie Benn was suspended for taking an ugly hit to Stone less than two minutes into Game 3, leading to game rigging, and was suspended for games 4 and 5 of last year's Western Finals. Missed the match. After the captains collide and Stone falls into the ice, Ben lunges forward with his cane in both hands, making contact with Stone near the neck.
“This is a different year. I think it was addressed pretty quickly in the regular season,” Dallas forward Joe Pavelski said when asked about the handoff's impact on this series. “Right now it's all about winning. And that's what we're focused on.”
A week into this regular season, Dallas and Vegas have traded goals and plenty of punches, with both teams winning two majors. The first was Ben and Vegas defenseman Nicholas Haig.
innet
Oettinger, who made 64 saves in a Game 7 loss to Calgary two years ago, has won an NHL-record 24 games since Jan. 1.
Aiden Hill was great for the Knights last postseason after Laurent Brossoit was injured in the second round. Hill went 11-4 with a .932 save percentage in the playoffs, but was plagued by injuries and inconsistent play this season.
Hill's split begins with Logan Thompson. He has a .926 save percentage and a 2.14 goals-against average over his past 11 games, but has no playoff experience. Cassidy said Sunday that he knows who will start Game 1, but he did not reveal his selection.
There are no strangers
Vegas is making its sixth postseason appearance in seven seasons as a franchise, and DeBoer has appeared in all of them. DeBoer was San Jose's coach who faced the Knights in the first two playoffs in 2018 and 2019, and also coached in the 2020 and 2021 postseasons before going to Dallas.
Pavelski, who has the most playoff goals of any American-born player with 73, will face Las Vegas in his fifth playoff game, his third in Dallas after facing DeBoer twice in San Jose.
conspiracy theory story
After Stone was declared cleared to return to practice in time for the playoffs, Las Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon heard outside speculation about possible salary cap manipulation.
Stone's salary, which was placed on long-term injured reserve after being injured on Feb. 20, did not count against the NHL cap, allowing Vegas to be aggressive at the trade deadline and add three players. . There is no cap for the playoffs, and Stone returned to full-contact practice on Saturday.
He also returned just before the playoffs after undergoing back surgery during last season.
McCrimmon said the NHL is fully involved in such cases, has access to all medical information and test results, and the league's chief medical director meets with team doctors. .
“They have access to all the information. That's what keeps the system legitimate,” McCrimmon said. “So I don't know that maybe the fans and the media realize how much scrutiny these injuries are under.”
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