Vegas Golden Knights draw first blood against Stars in round-robin games

The Vegas Golden Knights are off to a great start in the round-robin games.

With the chance to steal the No.1 seed in the Western Conference for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights put in a strong effort against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Center in Edmonton to emerge as 5-3 winners.

Chandler Stephenson got the Golden Knights on the board in the first period, although the momentum of the game quickly turned.

Joe Pavelski, Jamie Oleksiak and Corey Perry all got on the board as the Stars scored three unanswered goals in the second period.

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However, an ugly middle frame did the trick as the Knights woke up emphatically in the third period.

Mark Stone recorded his first goal of the restart before Nate Schmidt buried a one-timer to make it a tied game.

And the momentum was then firmly on the side of Vegas with William Carrier scoring the game-winner before William Karlsson added an empty-netter.

Let’s break the game down period-by-period…

First Period

It was a perfect start for the Golden Knights in this opening round-robin game thanks to Chandler Stephenson, who started the play in his own zone before joining the rush and ripping a shot under the pads of Dallas goalie Ben Bishop.

That was pretty much it for action in the opening period as the Knights were outshot 8-7 by the Stars, although Vegas controlled play for much of the opening 20 minutes.

Second Period

While the first period lacked in goals, the second certainly didn’t but it was the Dallas Stars who exploded offensively.

Dallas was the better team for the opening stages of the second frame and they made it a tied game at 7:50.

Joe Pavelski sent a pass right into the middle of traffic and it went off the skate of Alec Martinez and into the net, a goal you couldn’t fault Robin Lehner for.

Dallas struck again at 8:32, though, with Jamie Oleksiak ripping a wrister past Lehner after Vegas struggled to exit the zone.

And, just like that, it was a 3-1 game at 12:42 as Corey Perry got to the front of the net to deflect a Miro Heiskanen shot from the point past Lehner.

It was an ugly period for the Golden Knights who allowed nine high-danger chances in the second period alone, being outshot 13-10.

Third Period

Whatever was said in the locker room during the second intermission clearly worked as the Golden Knights came back with a vengeance in the final period.

Defenseman Zach Whitecloud sent a great pass into the zone and Mark Stone did the rest, flying past a cluster of defensemen before ripping a shot by Ben Bishop.

It was then a tied game at 11:15 thanks to Nate Schmidt who joined the rush before burying a one-timer.

The Golden Knights were dominating and William Carrier scored the game-winner at 14:47, grabbing a loose puck off the end boards before going between the legs to beat Bishop in what was a sensational move.

And the win was secured in the final seconds after Nicolas Roy fed the puck to William Karlsson who had an empty net to aim at.

Let’s take a look at our Three Stars of the Game…