What ‘as advertised’ Vegas said after Game 1 vs. Stars: ‘Good teams find a way to win’

The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs did not start exactly as the Dallas Stars intended Monday night at American Airlines Center.

A returning Vegas captain Mark Stone scored quickly after missing two months and his first-time linemate Tomas Hertl had a nifty goal in his playoff debut for the Golden Knights as the reigning Stanley Cup champion opened their defense of the title with a 4-3 win over top-seeded Dallas.

Here’s what both sides had to say about Game 1:

What the Golden Knights said

Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy

On converting power-play goals...

“We’re a little simpler. We know what Dallas is trying to do, at least what we pre-scouted in terms of their aggressiveness. Sometimes you got to take the first available look that you see. [Noah Hanifin] saw Thomas [Hertl] in front on the second one in face off, maybe it was sitting on the half wall play that you’re going to jump. So, we saw a free lane to the net and took it. We got the bounce, the rebound. Thomas is very good there. He’s a big man, so once he establishes position, it will be hard to move. He’s got quick hands, and he’s showed that since he’s come to our team. He’s a natural, true net presence, and he showed that tonight. The first one was about getting the puck through and [Mark Stone’s] hand-eye coordination. We have not scored a lot of goals this week because we tend to want to maybe overpass, which is fine against certain kills and maybe Game 2 will be more that way. [Hertl] is a big help, he wins draws. I think [Chandler Stephenson] was good this circle too, and [William Karlsson]. But the big difference is net presence. [Noah Hanifin], for whatever reason, has found a lane, so we will keep him there.”

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone

On his performance and getting an early power-play goal...

“It was a big goal for us to get off to a good start on the road. That’s key. The power play clutched up for us today and got two big goals for us to get off to a good start and get the chemistry there. Obviously, I haven’t played a lot of hockey in the last two months. I’ve been on the ice, but the games are different. I’m not just jumping into a preseason game in September, I’m playing a playoff game in April, so you have to be ready.”

On building chemistry off the ice with Tomas Hertl while they were both out with injuries...

“We talked a lot of hockey over the last month or so rehabbing. We watched the games together and talked a lot of hockey and had some debates, too. It was awesome to have those kind of discussions, and a lot of our theories aligned, so that helps – knowing that you are on the same page going into the games. There were some hiccups in the game tonight, and we’re still trying to find some chemistry. Both of us think there were some plays to be made that were just a hair off, but those will come. You see on the power play that we got some big bodies to the net, and we can cause some havoc. He has really done an incredible job for us over the last three weeks, being that stability at the net front and helping our power play.”

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Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl

On playing with Mark Stone in the playoffs rather than against him...

“It’s honestly awesome. We obviously had some rivalry, but we got our first game together, and it is a lot of fun. Even after a long time you can see [Mark] Stone is always good with the stick and smart. We got some good looks especially early in the game, and it was his first game and hopefully we can just keep a link every game and get better and better for our team. We will get better and score a lot of goals for our team.”

On getting a win on the road in Game 1...

“Confidence is always tough, especially on the road. They just scored and they will come, but even the looks they had skating around, they didn’t have much inside. Everybody did a pretty good job keeping the puck outside. We survived it, and it’s always nice to get the first win on the road. It was a great team effort tonight.”

Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault

On the team win...

“The goals that we let in – that’s part of their strength. It was rush goals. It’s just being aware and being on top of certain guys. It’s something that we can fix next game, being aware of who were up against on the ice. Look at our lineup. We played well. We had the puck a lot tonight. Good teams find a way to win hockey games.”

On the transition and breakouts...

“There’s a reason why they’re first in the league on rush chances. It’s up to us to be aware and be above everybody. When they miss their chances, we know we have to bring it up quick. It’s on wingers and centers to show early options and be able to transition quick.”

Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin

On Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone’s contribution on the power play...

“They are both big bodies and great tippers in front of the net, so if the lane is there, that is something you want to do. You want to get the puck to them and let them do their work. Two big goals.”

On his first playoff game with Vegas...

“It was great. A lot of emotions, and it was intense. I love that we hung with it there in the third period. [Dallas] is a great team, and we knew they were going to push back a little bit, but we stayed calm and found a way to get the win there.”

On locking things down defensively in the final two periods...

“They are a really good rush team, and after that first period we locked that up a little bit and forced them to dump some pucks in and hem them in our zone. They have a lot of speed with some of their lines. That is something you want to eliminate, and I thought we did a good job with that as the game went on.”

What the Stars said

Stars head coach Pete DeBoer

On facing Vegas...

“They’re as advertised. A good team, obviously the additions make a difference for them for sure. If you’re going to knock off the Stanley Cup champions, then you’re going to have to bring your A-game every night. Tonight, we did some decent things and did some things well, but we were chasing the game the whole night from the first shot of the game on. Tough to play from behind against that team.”

On having home-ice advantage for Game 1...

“The building was electric. It was awesome. You would have liked to have won. You don’t have to look any further than Vegas a year ago. They dropped Game 1 of the first round against Winnipeg, and it’s all about your response. If you’re going to win this time of year, you’ve got to respond. We could have won the game tonight, but we didn’t. We didn’t play well enough to make sure we won the game tonight.”

On the Stars’ play in the final two periods...

”We didn’t give them much. A tight checking game. You’ve got two teams that play pretty tight so that’s what it’s going to look like. You can’t chase the game the whole series. We were chasing the game all night, and we’ve got to fix that going forward.”

Stars captain Jamie Benn

On Monday’ loss...

“That’s a good team. They capitalized on their power plays early, and we’ll learn from it. It’s one game in a long series, and we’ll try to be better next game.”

On trying to overcome an early penalty and a disallowed goal in the first period...

“There’s going to be lots of ups and downs and a lot of momentum swings. It’s all about staying even-keel and not getting too high and not getting too low. Just sticking with it. They scored a minute in, and who cares, there was lots of game left.”

On losing Game 1 at home...

“Obviously it would’ve been nice to get it, but they are a good team. They are the champs for a reason, and we have to look to bounce back in Game 2.”

Stars forward Mason Marchment

On his goal...

“I don’t know what he was seeing, but I was ready to get it on net, maybe get a whistle and faceoff. We were lucky it went in.”

On opportunities to tie in the second period...

“We had tons of chances. It could have easily gone our way. We were inches off the first period, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes. I definitely felt like we started to get to our game in the second half.”

Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger

On what Dallas learned from Game 1...

“It’s going to be a great series. The guys should feel good about the way they played. A couple of bounces here and there, and we could have gone to overtime.”

On Vegas’ goals...

“I would like to have all four of them back.”

On building momentum after being scored on...

“You can’t draw it up how you want to all the time. You take the good and learn from the bad.”

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