WATCH: Alex Pietrangelo sends Stars' Jamie Benn flying into Vegas bench with big hit

By ARJUN B

Modified Apr 30, 2024 15:18 GMT

In a thrilling Game 4 of the NHL playoffs between the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights, Alex Pietrangelo delivered a huge hit on Jamie Benn that sent the Stars forward flying into the Golden Knights' bench.

The incident occurred in the second period while Benn was carrying the puck near the Vegas bench. Pietrangelo stepped up and landed a huge check on Benn, sending him crashing awkwardly into the Golden Knights bench area.

Watch the video of Alex Pietrangelo's hit here:

Benn was upset after the hit. Pietrangelo's hit seemed to ignite the Stars, who were trailing 1-2 at the time. Dallas then managed to net three goals to secure a 4-2 win against Vegas. This victory leveled the round-robin playoff series at two games each.

The Stars got goals from Evgenii Dadonov, Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz and Ty Dellandrea. Goaltender Jake Oettinger was excellent once again, making 33 saves to lead Dallas to the big road victory.

For Vegas, Michael Amadio and Jack Eichel scored, while Logan Thompson stopped 28 shots in the net.

The Golden Knights had jumped out to a 2-0 series lead with wins in the first two games in Las Vegas. But the Stars battled back with two straight victories in Dallas to even things up.

Alex Pietrangelo’s Golden Knights 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars

The Golden Knights got on the board first thanks to Michael Amadio, who knocked in a rebound 14:25 into the opening period. But the Stars responded just under 4 minutes later when Evgenii Dadonov roofed a shot off the mask of Vegas goalie Logan Thompson to make it 1-1.

Early in the second period, Jack Eichel put the Golden Knights back in front 2-1 after jamming home a rebound on a 3-on-2 rush. The lead didn't last long, though, as Dallas evened it up at 2-2 about halfway through the period on Wyatt Johnston's power play tally.

Later in the second, the Stars took their first lead of the game when Ty Dellandrea deflected in a shot from Craig Smith to make it 3-2.

Vegas pressed hard for the equalizer in the third but came up empty. Roope Hintz sealed the 4-2 victory for Dallas with an empty netter, just seconds after making a big defensive play to block a shot from Noah Hanifin.

“We can get out of the period 2-2,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said post-game. “We stayed too long in the shift. Then we mismanaged the puck. It's a fortunate play, but they're putting everything to the net. You're going to get some of those bounces.”

Now the series shifts back to Dallas for a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night.