In Las Vegas, the Dallas Stars evened their opening round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Golden Knights on Monday evening wit a 4-2 win in Game 4. 
Home ice has meant nothing in this series with both teams taking their wins on the road.
Vegas hit first for a 1-0 lead in the opening stanza.
Michael Amadio staked the Golden Knights to the early lead at 14:25, scoring off a rebound of his initial shot on goal.
Less than four minutes later, Dallas replied with a strike by Evgenii Dadonov at 17:52, tying the game, 1-1. He scored off a shot from the goal line that hit the top of the cage.
“Tonight was [Oettinger’s] best night. Third period, he locked it down and made some huge saves,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “When he gets in that zone, he’s a really tough guy to beat. I like how our group is playing around him and defending around him. But you know, we bent a little bit tonight. You knew they were going to push back, and you know, he made some critical saves at key times. So, we’re going to need that. … He’s got to be one of our best players, but I feel like he’s in that zone.”
In the middle frame, Jack Eichel scored at 3:09, to push the Knights back in front, 2-1, scoring off an inclose rebound of a shot by Jonathan Marchessault.
“It was a step up from the last game (a 3-2 overtime loss on Saturday) where they totally dominated,” Vegas’ William Karlsson said. “I thought we had scoring chances. It’s sport. It’s going to bounce one way the other day and bounce the other way the next day. So, we’re just going to regroup and focus on the next game.”
Midway through the second period, Wyatt Johnston hit off a rebound and scramble at the net, on the power play, to tie the game, 2-2.
“We lost the momentum a little bit in second period. They got their power-play goal, and after that they generated another power play,” Marchessault said. “They were able to get a goal in the last two minutes. So, I think that’s an unfortunate bounce. But I mean, it’s momentum swings in the playoffs, and I don’t think we managed that well today.”
Ty Dellandrea pushed the Stars into a 3-2 lead at 18:34 of the second, he was credited with the goal when a shot form Craig Smith glanced in off his crest.
“It’s the playoffs,” Dellandrea said. “It’s just about trying to win a game for this group. Everybody’s been playing well. I’m just trying to help the group and keep that going for them.”
In the third, Roope Hintz hit an empty net at 18:38 for the 4-2 final count on the scoreboard.
“You got to pay a price to win in this league,” the Stars’ Jamie Benn said. “That was a perfect example.”
Logan Thompson made 28 saves for Vegas, which is the second wild card.
“So here we are, tied 2-2. All close games,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “So, we have to be the team that makes the right plays in the next game like we did up there on the last trip. I don’t think it was our best game. I don’t think it was theirs in Dallas, but we made the plays at the right time to win the hockey game. We played winning hockey in the third period. That will be the task in front of us now.”
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