LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights shut out the Dallas Stars 4-0 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final. VGK is now up three games to none in this best-of-seven series.
Vegas got on the board at lightning speed scoring three goals in less than eight minutes.
VGK forward Jonathan Marchessault got things started in the first period. Center Jack Eichel got the puck in the circle and fed it to Marchessault who found the back of the net just 1:11 into the game. According to VGK's PR team, that was Marchessault's seventh goal in the last seven games. He hadn't scored any in the first seven games of the playoffs.
However, he wasn't the only Knight joining the scoring party.
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn was ejected from the game for a crosscheck to the neck of VGK's Mark Stone. Benn will be eligible for supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety. That was a five-minute penalty that led to a Golden Knights power play. At 5:57, Nicolas Roy set up the shot for Ivan Barbashev who found the back of the net to score his fifth playoff goal.
Less than two minutes later, it would be William Carrier's turn to add a goal. Teddy Blueger fed him a pass from the circle and Carrier was able to get the backhander to the top shelf over the shoulder of Stars goalie Jake Oettinger. Following that goal, Oettinger was taken out of the game and replaced by backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who last played on May 13 against the Seattle Kraken.
In the first period, Dallas Stars right wing Evgenii Dadonov collided with teammate Roope Hintz. Dadonov was taken out of the game for a lower body injury and spent less than three minutes on the ice.
Vegas continued to add onto its lead in the second period. With 8:28 in the period, Barbashev passed to defenseman Alex Pietrangelo who ripped a rocket through traffic to score his first goal of the playoffs and put the Knights up 4-0. According to VGK's PR team, Pietrangelo's goal is the fifth of his career in the conference finals. He's tied with teammate Alec Martinez for the second-most by an active defenseman.
With 21.6 seconds in the second period, Stars center Max Domi shoved VGK's Nic Hague into the boards before the two started throwing punches. Referees gave Hague a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Domi was given a two-minute penalty for crosschecking and a two-minute penalty for roughing and a misconduct.
Dallas fans started throwing things on the ice, including popcorn, nachos, and beer. Because it was taking so long to clean it up, referees were sent to the dressing rooms while the trash could cleaned up. There was 21.6 seconds left in the second, which referees said will be played after the intermission, before the third period starts.
Domi gets two for cross checking, 2 for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.
— Johnny Resendiz (@JohnnyResendiz5) May 24, 2023
Fans are starting to throw stuff on the ice.
All hell has broken loose. pic.twitter.com/6DEc2pI5iR
During this post-season, the Golden Knights have had 16 different players score goals. The only team with more was the Seattle Kraken who had 18 different players score.
That would be the last goal as Vegas held on to keep Dallas scoreless. The teams will face each other again on Thursday night for Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. The puck drops at 5 p.m.