Dellandrea scores twice as Stars beat Golden Knights in Game 5 to extend series

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With Dallas' season on the line, the Stars got two critical goals from a player who was a healthy scratch the first two games of the Western Conference Final.

Ty Dellandrea's goals came within a 1:27 span midway through the third period, and the Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Saturday to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final to face the Florida Panthers.

Stars' Dellandrea pots back-to-back goals to take late lead in Game 5 vs. Golden Knights
Watch as Dallas Stars centre Ty Dellandera scores two goals in span of 1:27 to break the tie against the Golden Knights.
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    “He's one of the best guys I've ever played with,” said Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who made 27 saves. “He deserves every opportunity he gets, and there's no one happier for him than the guys in this room. It shows how special you are when you get taken out. He didn't make it about him. He needed the opportunity to step up, and that's what he did.”

    The Stars escaped elimination for the second game in a row and head to Dallas for Game 6 on Monday night down 3-2. Dallas is attempting to become the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after being down 3-0.

    And look who's back for the Stars? Captain Jamie Benn returns after a two-game suspension for his cross-check to the neck of Vegas captain Mark Stone in Game 3. That was the only game in this series that was decided early, and until Saturday the Stars hadn't even had a multigoal lead.

    “I know our group, and we weren't happy about being in the hole we were in, and they decided to do something about it,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “And now we're rolling.”

    'He's money': Stars' DeBoer praises Oettinger's ability to step up in elimination games
    Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer applauds Ty Dellandrea and Jake Oettinger after their huge performance in Game 5 in Vegas.
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      The only problem for DeBoer was waiting two days to play Game 6.

      “Drop the puck,” he said.

      DeBoer said before the game if his team won, the pressure would shift to the Knights. Now it's up to them to respond after twice being a period away from playing in the Stanley Cup Final and letting both opportunities slip away.

      “I don't think we brought our best the last two games,” Stone said. “We were still in a good spot to win the game. We've got to bring a little bit better effort and start playing a little more desperate.”

      Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said “it's a very good question” why his team didn't play with more desperation, but he also wasn't thrilled with the Knights' execution.

      'I'm not sure you beat Coyotes with 24 giveaways': Cassidy frustrated after Game 5 loss
      Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy expresses his frustration of the team not playing with desperation in Game 5 against the Stars.
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        “We had 24 giveaways,” Cassidy said. “I'm not sure you're beating the Arizona Coyotes in January with 24 giveaways. That's no disrespect to Arizona, but it's not the right way to play.”

        Dellandrea found the right way to play and put together the first multigoal playoff game of his career. Jason Robertson and Luke Glendening also scored, and Thomas Harley had two assists.

        Chandler Stephenson and Ivan Barbashev scored for the Knights, and Jonathan Marchessault had two assists to extend his points streak to four games. Adin Hill made 30 saves.

        Stephenson restores Golden Knights' lead with sweet snipe past Stars' Oettinger
        Watch as Chandler Stephenson catches a pass by Shea Theodore and rips it up high on Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger to restore the Vegas Golden Knights lead in Game 5.
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          Dellandrea scored from the right circle to put Dallas ahead, the puck deflecting off Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo with 9:25 left for a 3-2 lead. Then, Dellandrea scored from the slot with 7:58 remaining.

          Dellandrea said the older players kept him motivated when he was temporarily sidelined.

          “There's no denying it's hard,” he said. “I'm thankful for a good group of character guys, and you've just got to stay ready.”

          'A lot of desperation': Dellandrea on what drove Stars in second straight elimination game
          Dallas Stars forward Ty Dellandrea speaks after a two-goal performance in a must-win Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights, discussing what drove his team to their second straight win without captain Jamie Benn.
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            The teams traded goals in the first two periods.

            Jack Eichel battled two Stars players for the puck in Vegas' offensive zone, and then Barbashev swooped in and made a fantastic move to glide past Oettinger and score with 6:24 left in the first period. The Stars wasted little time in answering when Glendening scored on a deflection less than two minutes later.

            Dallas was robbed of what looked like a sure goal when Hill snagged a point-blank shot from Roope Hintz, who then threw his back in disbelief.

            Golden Knights' Hill makes unbelievable diving save to rob Stars' Kiviranta of sure-goal
            Watch as goaltender Adin Hill makes an unbelievable diving save to keep Game 5 even between the Vegas Golden knights and the Dallas Stars in the third period.
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              Like in the first period, the Knights had a goal in the second quickly answered by one from the Stars. Stephenson scored from the left circle at 16:40 of the period, and Robertson knocked his own rebounds 2:09 later to make it 2-2. Stephenson tied the Knights' record with his eight playoff goals this year, and Robertson had his fifth of the series.

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