NHL playoffs: Golden Knights b...

The Vegas Golden Knights took a 3-0 stranglehold over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday with a 4-0 victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference final.

Jonathan Marchessault, Ivan Barbashev, William Carrier and Alex Pietrangelo provided the offense for the Golden Knights, who moved to within one win of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in the franchise's brief history. Goaltender Adin Hill made 34 saves for the shutout.

Dallas was forced to play shorthanded up front for much of the evening due to a pair of cross-checks. Captain Jamie Benn was given a game misconduct in the first period, while Max Domi received a 10-minute misconduct late in the second frame.

Stars starting goaltender Jake Oettinger was lifted seven minutes into the contest after surrendering three goals on five shots. Scott Wedgewood came on in relief and stopped 10 of 11 shots.

Vegas will look to finish the series in Game 4, which is set for Thursday in Dallas. But first, here are the major takeaways from Game 3.

Targeting Mark Stone was a time bomb that blew up on Stars, Benn (and the NHL?)

Scoring has generally been way up in the NHL the past two seasons. On the other hand, goals haven’t been so easy to come by during these skin-tight conference finals.

How much do you blame Benn for “losing it” for the Stars in Game 3 when he got ejected and handed the Golden Knights a major power-play opportunity? Certainly, it played a big role in the Stars’ atrocious start, as the deficit blew up from 1-0 to 2-0 via the major penalty. Before the Stars could gather their wits, it was 3-0 about 7:10 into Game 3.

Whatever weight you place on Benn cross-checking Stone, it was dangerous, reckless and very much worthy of that major penalty. Benn didn’t speak to the media after Game 3.

It also might have been a matter of time.

For one thing, this is not the first instance of Benn delivering a dangerous, high-profile cross-check on a star opponent. In the example below, Benn avoided consequences for a cross-check on Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings in 2021.

Game 3 latest reminder of unpredictable playoff goaltending

Sergei Bobrovsky morphing from $10-million cautionary tale to his peak two-time Vezina form is probably the story of these playoffs. The dangerous thing about playoff surprises is that people insist on attempting to decode the indiscernible.

Indeed, you can just observe Bobrovsky’s path and get a glimpse of how unpredictable modern NHL goaltending can be, especially in the playoffs. Bobrovsky began the postseason being a backup to journeyman NHL/AHL ‘tweener Alex Lyon, and it was the proper call by the Panthers. After the Bruins got to Lyon, Bobrovsky rediscovered elite form.

You can debate just how great Bobrovsky has been but that’s a matter of splitting hairs between “great” and “all-time great” runs. The bottom line is that just about no one saw this coming.

Golden Knights present multiple Conn Smythe candidates

Those who chose the Golden Knights to beat the Oilers often emphasized Vegas’s depth, so it’s not shocking that you can make a variety of Conn Smythe arguments for the club. For the sake of some simplicity, let’s cross off Hill (who’s only been in for a portion of games) along with defensemen Shea Theodore and Pietrangelo (key players who maybe lack the sexiest stats that win playoff MVPs).

Even then, there are a variety of heroes. It’s probably easiest to group them based on running mates.

Ivan Barbashev - Jack Eichel - Jonathan Marchessault

It was tempting to focus on the duo of Eichel and Marchessault most of all until Barbashev collected three points in Game 3. The other two pieces of that dominant line deserve the most credit, though. Marchessault scored a debilitating 1-0 goal in Game 3, something that may challenge claims that the Stars “only” lost because of Benn being a bonehead. In general, Marchessault keeps scoring the eye-catching goals that burn into voters’ minds. He sent Game 2 to overtime and sent the Oilers packing with a stunning natural hat trick.

Mark Stone - Chandler Stephenson

We all know hockey players are tough. Still, there’s a gulf between being tough and managing to produce in the playoffs while clearly hurt. One way or another, Stone keeps getting it done. You can even argue that opponents get a little too focused at going after him, possibly getting off their own game in the process.

Stone’s heady play has been a boon for Vegas in every phase of the game. While Stone’s skating has long been a weakness, Stephenson regularly stands out as one of Vegas’s fleetest threats.

William Karlsson - Reilly Smith

Eichel, Stone and Marchessault figure to get the first mentions in Conn Smythe conversations. But don’t forget about the other pieces of “The Misfit Line,” especially Karlsson. It’s not that hard to think of Karlsson because he’s already in the double digits in points. What really makes Karlsson a boutique choice is that he’s quietly developed into a tremendous two-way center. Really, you can argue that Karlsson’s actually carrying more of a defensive burden than Stone.

Here’s the elevator pitch: Karlsson can be so disruptive that the Oilers seemingly avoided a matchup with Connor McDavid, possibly even cutting into No. 97’s ice time.