Vegas beat Dallas – is one game away from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals

NEW YORK. Even the Knights from Las Vegas now have one skate in the Stanley Cup final.

They can thank Dallas captain Jamie Benn for that.

After just a few minutes in the night’s third conference final, he suffered a serious concussion and went to a match penalty – and at the same moment the match was over.

– He made a mistake and feels worse than anyone else about it, says coach Pete DeBoer after what ended up being a 4-0 drubbing.

It was the moment when fans and media and everyone else expected that mighty Dallas Starsfinally back at home at the American Airlines Center, was looking to bounce back from the opening two losses in Las Vegas – but it turned out to be a disaster tonight for the Texas team.

After just one minute and eleven seconds, Jonathan Marchessault scored 1-0 for the visitors.

Lost my composure

And 42 seconds later, captain Jamie Benn ruined everything for his team. First he knocked Mark Stone over on the ice – and then he brutally cross-checked him in the neck. The judges did not need to deliberate for very long. The 33-year-old Canadian received a match penalty and the Stars were forced to play at a numerical disadvantage for five minutes.

Then the Knights took the opportunity to make it 2-0 and a few minutes later it was also 3-0. And in the middle period 4-0.

In short: Benn gave the game away and pushed his teammates into an 0-3 hole in the series – and the risk is high that he will not get a chance to help them back up, he will be suspended.

However, coach Pete DeBoer chooses not to saw him too brutally afterwards.

– Jamie made a mistake and feels worse than anyone else about it. I’m not going to make it worse, he says.

– I don’t know what happens now, but we have to live with the consequences, just like we had to live with the consequences in this match.

The audience was embarrassed

The Stars coach shrugs off the fact that the crowd also embarrassed themselves by throwing beer cans and other things onto the ice.

– It was a frustrating evening for everyone in the hall, he says.

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Benn himself, being the captain that he is, refrained from talking to the media and explaining his breakdown.

The Golden Knights, for their part, handled the unexpected situation pretty perfectly.

They scored their early goals and then closed out the game – and now, like the Florida Panthers, they are one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

– But the cliché is true, the fourth victory is always the hardest. We don’t take anything for granted, it will be difficult in the next game, says star Jack Eichel.

It is played on the night of Friday.