Joe Pavelski scores on OT power play, Stars beat Golden Knights 3-2 to avoid West loss – KGET 17

DALLAS (AP) – Joe Pavelski admits he probably appreciates big playoff goals the later he gets in his career. But they all still feel just as good, and his latest one kept the season alive for the Dallas Stars.

“I just really live in the moment,” Pavelski said. “Definitely a great feeling and I’m glad we could play another game, and go from there and try to extend it.”

The 38-year-old Pavelski scored on the power play at 3:18 of overtime — a one-timer from the center of the left circle to the far post — and the Stars avoided a berth in the Western Conference finals with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.

Jason Robertson scored twice in his first career multi-goal playoff game for Dallas, who were without suspended captain Jamie Benn.

“We’re looking for goals and that’s kind of the responsibility I’ve put on myself,” Robertson said. “I know this playoff was tough. … I was able to get the rebounds that we needed tonight.”

Jake Oettinger had 37 saves, two nights after the Stars’ 24-year-old goaltender was pulled 7:10 into the third after allowing three goals on five shots.

The Stars had the advantage in overtime after Brayden McNabb’s high penalty on Ty Dellandre. Fifty seconds into the game, Pavelski scored on a pass from Mir Heiskanen. They won for the first time in their five OT games this postseason — Vegas won the first two games of this series after regulation.

It was just Vegas’ second penalty of the game, both high against McNabb. His penalty on Pavelski late in the first period led to a power play when Robertson scored his first goal with some fine movement.

Pavelski, in his 15th NHL season and still looking for his first Stanley Cup, scored his ninth goal in 12 games this postseason, but his first in five games. He has 73 career postseason goals — the most by a US-born player and the most by any active player.

“He is ageless. … I watched that movie over and over. It never gets old,” Zvezda coach Pete DeBoer said. “He lives for those moments and wants to be in those situations. He always has and delivers almost every time.”

Benn was suspended two games by the NHL on Wednesday for cross-checking when he dropped his stick near the neck of Vegas captain Mark Stone in the first two minutes of Game 3 on Tuesday night. Benn will also miss Game 5 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Vegas. Adin Hill’s streak of five victories was interrupted. He made 39 saves, including a game-saver with an outstretched left leg with about two minutes left in regulation on a shot by rookie Fredrik Olofsson in his first career playoff game.

“Our effort was not good enough. Closing out the series is probably the toughest game in the series, right, so it just wasn’t good enough from our group,” Marchessault said. “It was still a one-goal game in overtime. It was there for us.”

Karlsson and Marchessault are among six original Vegas players still with the team from the inaugural 2017-18 season that ended with the Knights playing for the Stanley Cup, although they lost in five games to the Washington Capitals after winning Game 1.

Vegas missed an opportunity to complete the final drive, a night after the Florida Panthers shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals.

Vegas took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period when Marchessault, after sticking his stick in the back of Ryan Suter in front of the net, scored on a pass between the legs of a Stars defenseman from McNabb, another Golden Knight original.

Robertson’s tying goal late in the period came off the backboard just seconds after hitting the post once again. It was his fourth goal of the series and his sixth of the playoffs, after becoming the first Dallas player to score 100 points this regular season.

On his first goal late in the first that tied the game at 1-1, Robertson deflected Heiskanen’s shot from the blue line into the air. As Hill tried to secure the puck in his glove, Robertson freed it, then reached up and pulled the puck into the net with his stick parallel to the ice.

With former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and wrestling great Ric Flair both in the building wearing Stars jerseys, Dallas was kept from making the playoffs for the first time since 2001 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Louis in the second round. This was the Stars’ 21st playoff series since then.

The Golden Knights scored first again – though not like the three quick goals in Game 3 that led to Oettinger’s earliest departure ever.

Karlsson picked up the puck and skated to the front of the net after a pass to Nicolas Roy, whose pass through traffic deflected off the Dallas stick before Reilly Smith hit it in the right circle for a tap-in. Karlsson’s deflection off Oettinger just 4:17 into the game was his eighth goal of the postseason.

“There were a lot of chances in the rush,” said Smith, also with Vegas from the start. “I don’t think we did a good enough job of making it difficult for them. So we have another chance in two days.”

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