Jamie Benn ejected, Jake Oettinger pulled during Stars’ disastrous start to Game 3
Oettinger #Oettinger
In unexpected news from Game 3: Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger was chased away just seven minutes and 10 seconds into the first period after allowing three goals.
Even more unexpected: Captain Jamie Benn didn’t even last that long.
Desperately needing a victory, the Stars couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start in Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas scored just 71 seconds into the game on a Jonathan Marchessault wrist shot. Less than a minute later, Benn was called for a cross-check against Vegas captain Mark Stone, then was given a game misconduct penalty for pushing Stone near the head area when he was on the ice.
Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev scored during the five-minute penalty, and William Carrier added Vegas’ third goal shortly after that penalty period ended.
Stars head coach Pete DeBoer pulled Oettinger after that third goal. He faced five total shots on goal. It was the third time he had been chased away this postseason. Scott Wedgewood came in for Oettinger and quickly made a glove save, sparking a big cheer from the fans at American Airlines Center who needed something positive.
The odds of coming back down 2-0 in the series already weren’t in Dallas’ favor. A 3-0 deficit would be drastically worse. Only four teams have ever come back to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.
Evgenii Dadonov also became a notable absence for the Stars after he collided with Roope Hintz on a Stars power play. If Dadonov is done for the night, Wyatt Johnston would be the last one left on the line that started the game.
On Twitter: @JoeJHoyt
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