Full coverage: Stars fall behind early, can’t recover vs. Golden Knights in Game 1

The Dallas Stars lost all three of their Game 1s in their run to the 2023 Western Conference finals last season.

The trend continued on Monday.

Dallas dropped Game 1 in its opening-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, a 4-3 loss that started out with a pair of Vegas goals in the first 10 minutes of the game.

See our full coverage from Game 1 below.

Knights out: Photos from Dallas Stars' Game 1 loss to Vegas

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Third period

End of game: The Stars couldn’t claw back into this one despite a flurry at the end. Dallas pulled goaltender Jake Oettinger with more than two minutes remaining, creating a few scoring chances that were turned away, mostly by the Vegas defense. Vegas grabs the early series lead with the 4-2 victory at American Airlines Center.

12:47 into third period: The Stars have life.

A seemingly harmless wrist shot from Mason Marchment locked up Vegas goalie Logan Thompson and slipped past his glove. Dallas had been held scoreless in the period to that point, but the goal cuts Vegas’ lead to 4-3 and gives Dallas a chance with under 10 minutes to play.

Second period

End of second: No end-of-period flurry this time as Vegas’ goal early in the second held up as the period’s only score. Dallas trails 4-2 entering the third.

Dallas out-shot Vegas 11-3 in the second period but only had an 0-1 scoring deficit to go along with it. The Stars have their work cut out in the final 20 minutes.

1:06 into second period: The Stars give up another early goal to start the second period. Brayden McNabb beats Jake Oettinger with a slap shot to push the Vegas lead again to two goals. Oettinger is not as sharp tonight as he has been down the stretch of the season, allowing four goals on nine shots. Just like that ... it’s 4-2 Golden Knights.

First period

18:29: Jason Robertson keeps the Stars in it with their second goal of the game. Rookie Logan Stankoven steals the puck near mid-ice and feeds Robertson, who promptly puts it into the back of the net with a wrist shot. That closes out an action-packed first period with Vegas holding a slim 3-2 lead.

17:51: Tomas Hertl scores three seconds into the power play after another Dallas period, and pushes Vegas’ cushion back to two goals. It’s 3-1 Golden Knights. Mason Marchment was whistled for the hooking penalty.

16:07: Stars captain Jamie Been gets the home team on the board with a nifty backhand goal. The Stars climb back into the game, trailing 2-1.

8:27: Dallas is in trouble early. Vegas strikes again to extend its lead to 2-0 midway through the first period. Jonathan Marchessault went five-hole on Jake Oettinger.

7:06: It looked as if Dallas had momentarily tied things up shortly after Vegas opened the scoring, but it wasn’t to be. Ryan Suter’s goal was challenged and overturned and the Stars’ spot on the scoreboard was set back to zero. Mason Marchment was ruled to be offside. The score remains 1-0.

1:23 into first period: Well, that didn’t take long. After Sam Steel was penalized for high-sticking, the Golden Knights took a very early lead with the first power-play goal of the series. Mark Stone, who was questionable to play in Game 1 of the series, put it in for Vegas.

Pregame updates

Stars expected lines

Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski

Marchment-Duchene-Seguin

Benn-Johnston-Stankoven

Steel-Faksa-Dadonov

Harley-Heiskanen

Lindell-Tanev

Suter-Lundkvist

Oettinger

Golden Knights expected lines

Barbashev-Eichel-Marchessault

Stephenson-Hertl-Stone

Howden-Karlsson-Mantha

Carrier-Roy-Kolesar

Hanifin-Pietrangelo

McNabb-Theodore

Hague-Whitecloud

Thompson

Pregame reading

— Stanley Cup playoff central: Stars-Knights game schedule, stories Dallas fans need to know

— Stars 2024 playoff preview: What could Dallas’ road to the Stanley Cup Finals look like?

— Stars playoff predictions: Why Jake Oettinger is key to Dallas’ run toward Stanley Cup

— 5 things to know about the Stars-Golden Knights series in Round 1 of the NHL playoffs

— ‘Battle scarred’ Jake Oettinger prepared for adversity that comes with Stars’ playoff run

— Golden Knights the first of many hurdles for Dallas Stars on run to Stanley Cup

— Stars bandwagon guide: Catch up with Dallas’ NHL team ahead of its 2024 postseason run

— Dallas Stars’ young guns set to lead team into 2024 playoffs. What do their parents think?

Who to follow on Twitter/X: @lassimak, @TimCowlishaw, @dmn_stars

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