Vegas Golden Knights skate past Dallas Stars 3-1

DALLAS (KTNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights skated past the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Wednesday night to go up two games to none in the best-of-seven series.

Both teams will now travel back to Las Vegas for Game 3 at The Fortress, which is scheduled for Saturday night. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m. Our pregame coverage is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Vegas 34. Channel 13 will also air Game 3 following the NBA Playoff Game.

Here's how things went down.

First period

Through the first five minutes, the Dallas Stars have gotten five shots on goal while the Vegas Golden Knights have none. All of the Stars' shots have been stopped by goaltender Logan Thompson.

The Vegas Golden Knights had some momentum getting four shots off in the next six minutes. However, none were able to find the back of the net.

At 16:25, VGK's Nic Roy was given a two-minute penalty for slashing and gave Dallas their first power play of the night. Twenty-two seconds into the power play, Jason Robertson was able to get the puck past Thompson to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Miro Heiskanen and Jamie Benn picked up assists on the play.

With that assist, Benn recorded his 40th career playoff assist and passed Brad Maxwell for sixth place on the Stars/North Stars' all-time list.

It didn't take long for the Golden Knights to respond.

At 18:09, a goal by Jonathan Marchessault tied things up at one. Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev picked up assists on the play.

For Marchessault, the goal was his 36th career playoff goal and it extends his post-season scoring streak to 12 games, which dates back to last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs run. He's also tied for the third-longest streak by an active player.

That's it for the first period. Here are your final stats as we head to the first intermission.

• Shots on goal: Dallas 11 - Vegas 6
• Faceoff percentage: Dallas 61.5% - Vegas 38.5%
• Hits: Dallas 24 - Vegas 25
• Blocked shots: Dallas 3 - Vegas 3
• Giveaways: Dallas 4 - Vegas 4
• Takeaways: Dallas 2 - Vegas 1

Second period

It was four-on-four to start the period while VGK's Chandler Stephenson finished serving a two-minute penalty for hooking Dallas' Mike Heiskanen. Heiskanen was also serving a two-minute penalty for embellishment. However, neither team was able to add another goal to the board.

About 14 minutes into the second period, both teams got into an argument, which led to VGK's Anthony Mantha and Dallas' Ryan Suter both being handed a two-minute penalty for roughing. That led to a four-on-four situation but no one found the back of the net.

With 1:07 left in the second period, Noah Hanifin found the back of the net to give the Golden Knights the 2-1 lead. It was his first career playoff goal.

"I think we're staying with it and we're playing a simple game. We're playing to our identity. It's going to be one of those series. They're a good hockey team. We just need to keep doing what we're doing," Hanifin said during the second intermission.

Here are your game stats after two periods.

• Shots on goal: Dallas 16 - Vegas 17
• Faceoff percentage: Dallas 57.1% - Vegas 42.9%
• Hits: Dallas 44 - Vegas 41
• Blocked shots: Dallas 7 - Vegas 6
• Giveaways: Dallas 6 - Vegas 5
• Takeaways: Dallas 4 - Vegas 1

Third period

About four minutes into the third period, referees determined that Stars' Roope Hintz delayed the game by getting the puck over the glass. That gave Vegas their first power play of the night. However, Dallas was able to kill it off.

The Dallas Stars pulled their goalie with less than two minutes to go in order to get an extra attacker on the ice. The Golden Knights took advantage of that and outskated the Stars to get down the ice and Jack Eichel scored an empty net goal to make it 3-1 and seal the team's second victory on the road this postseason.

With the goal, Eichel hit the 30-point mark in his 24th career postseason game. He is the fifth active player to reach 30 playoff points in 24 games or fewer.

Here are your game stats after two periods.

• Shots on goal: Dallas 21 - Vegas 27
• Faceoff percentage: Dallas 51.4% - Vegas 48.6%
• Hits: Dallas 53 - Vegas 55
• Blocked shots: Dallas 18 - Vegas 16
• Giveaways: Dallas 9 - Vegas 6
• Takeaways: Dallas 4 - Vegas 2

Postgame

Keegan Kolesar said Vegas thought the game would be physical right out of the gate and they were ready for Dallas.

"Right from the start, we knew they were going to have a push for us, physically. They came out right out of the gate ready to go. I thought we did a good job managing it, taking our chances when we could," Kolesar said. "They took their licks at our top guys and we did the same for them."

The team's patience paid off at several key points in the game as they took advantage of the Stars' physicality.

"Sometimes, when they're trying to make those big hits, they can run out of position. So for us, if we're sound defensively, make the little plays like we can, we can break out a little cleaner," Kolesar said. "As the game got on, we saw that more from ourselves and we cleaned up the neutral zone and we got more offensive zone time."

Eichel said while the team played well, there is still room for improvement.

WATCH: Jack Eichel talks about Game 2 victory, looks ahead to Game 3

Thompson was solid in the net and stopped 20 of 21 shots on goal.

"The first game was a little too close for my liking. But today, I settled in there and it felt good. It's fun but definitely not over. We just have to regroup and refocus and get ready for game three," Thompson said.

He also had some help with multiple shots blocked in front of him. It's something he said he's used to.

"It's been two years, now, with this group," Thompson said. "I think my first year was a little hectic. You know the team's clicking when they're getting in front of pucks and we're battling for each other."

With the teams coming back to Vegas, Eichel said they are looking forward to playing in front of their fans at The Fortress.

"You got to expect [Dallas'] best. They're going to throw everything they have at us. I expect another tight game," Eichel said. "I'm sure it will be an awesome atmosphere. We really enjoy playing in front of our fans at T-Mobile and I think everyone is excited to get back there and play in our home barn."

WATCH: Head coach Bruce Cassidy speaks after the Game 2 victory in Dallas