| Advertisement |
May 24 (UPI) -- Ivan Barbashev scored once and assisted two other goals, while goaltender Adin Hill totaled 34 saves to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a shutout of the Dallas Stars and a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Forwards Jonathan Marchessault and William Carrier and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo scored the other goals for the Golden Knights in the 4-0 triumph Tuesday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Advertisement
"We are just playing as a team," Barbashev told reporters. "When you do things right, you get rewarded. I think that's what we've been doing the whole playoffs.
"We are a really strong team."
Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy registered two assists in the win. Stars goalie Jake Oettinger saved just 2 of 5 shots in the first period. Scott Wedgewood replaced Oettinger in the second and totaled 10 saves over the final two periods.
"Marchy got us going," Barbashev said of Marchessault. "From there we kept pushing and got another three goals."
The Golden Knights, who need just one win to secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, will battle the Stars in Game 4 on Thursday in Dallas.
"I thought we had the legs and the energy and attitude to survive [the bad start], but we didn't," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "That was unfortunate. Now we are in a big hole and gotta find a way to win a game on Thursday."
Barbashev and fellow forward Jack Eichel assisted Marchessault for the first goal of the night 71 seconds into the Game 3. Barbashev doubled the lead on a power play score about five minutes later. Carrier gave the Golden Knights a 3-0 advantage 1:13 later.
Pietrangelo scored the final goal of the night 8:28 into the second period.
The winner of the Golden Knights-Stars series will meet the Florida Panthers or Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers, who lead that series 3-0, will host the Hurricanes at 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Sunrise, Fla.
