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3 reasons the Dallas Stars can complete their Round 1 comeback to clinch series against VGK
The Dallas Stars have come back from the dead in their first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
After dropping both home games and going down 2-0 to the defending Stanley Cup champions, Dallas took both games in Las Vegas to even the series 2-2.
Now, they face a best-of-three with home-ice advantage and have all of the momentum in the series.
3 reasons the Dallas Stars can complete the comeback against Vegas
#1 Their top guys have not even found their game yet
Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin, Thomas Harley, Logan Stankoven, and the list goes on.
The Stars' top players have not been their best players in the first four games of this series. Hintz scored his first goal, his only point, into an empty net in Game 4. Pavelski and Harley have been held scoreless. Stankoven (one assistant) and Seguin (two assists) have been quiet.
Yet somehow, the Stars have found a way to split four games against a Vegas team that essentially added four or five more superstars to their roster.
#2 Injuries
In a similar trend, the Stars have had some injury issues, but they have not cost them.
Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa has not played in the playoffs, still nursing a lower-body injury from the regular season. In his place, Nils Lundkvist has struggled. So much so that Dallas has opted to rotate five defensemen, keeping Lundkvist to a total of 3:30 of ice time in Games 3 and 4.
Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa have also been out for the Stars, leaving Game 3 early and missing Game 4. They are game-time decisions again tonight.
Hakanpaa is vital to the Stars' success in their own zone. He leads the team in hits and is excellent at ending plays and cycles along the wall. Vegas is a team that loves to not only cycle and possess the puck but also use their strength and size to enforce their will.
Dallas really misses Hakanpaa, along with the other injured guys, and will only get better with their return.
#3 The Dallas Stars are the better team
In the classic hockey film 'Miracle', Team USA coach Herb Brooks says "The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back."
This couldn't be more relevant to the series between the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights.
Sure, Vegas got back Mark Stone and William Carrier and added huge pieces at the NHL trade deadline in Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, and Anthony Mantha. But the Stars have been doing what they do all season and only needed to add Chris Tanev on the backend to improve at the deadline.
The Dallas Stars were one point away from winning the President's Trophy with the most points in the regular season. They clinched their first Central Division and Western Conference titles since 2015-16. And they were at the top of the league in many statistical categories.
They are a team.
And while Vegas has a huge roster full of weapons, they have yet to fully become one. The Stars would like to advance before they do.
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