Stanley Cup playoffs Day 32: Golden Knights' Brett Howden scores early OT winner

But then the Stars got a couple of power plays in the second half of the period, and it was their turn to control the play, including this great pass from Evgenii Dadonov to set up Wyatt Johnston, but Adin Hill made a spectacular save to keep the game scoreless.

That pressure paid off, though, as with just 1:16 left in the first, Roope Hintz fired an innocent shot on net that Jason Robertson deflected up front to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. That goal also ended an eight-game goalless drought for Robertson, giving him his first goal since Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild, and his third of the postseason.

The Golden Knights upped the pressure in the second period to try to get this game tied, with an 11-7 shot advantage, a 12-4 five-one-five scoring chance advantage and a 1.05-0.45 five-one-five expected goal advantage. They were rewarded for it midway through the frame. Zach Whitecloud fired a shot from the point that got rebounded into the slot, and William Karlsson was there to bury the rebound and tie the game.

That momentum carried into the early third for both the Golden Knights and Karlsson, as just 1:19 into the period he managed to maintain his balance in an awkward spot and wire one past Jake Oettinger for the go-ahead 2-1 goal.

But the Stars didn’t take long to respond. Less than three minutes later, Hintz received a nice pass across the zone from Joe Pavelski, and he sniped it past Hill to tie the game.

The teams kept exchanging goals, with the Golden Knights scoring midway through the third, but this one was a bit controversial. Keegan Kolesar drove the net with the puck, and after falling into Oettinger, Teddy Blueger buried the loose puck. It seemed like it could have been goalie interference, but the Stars opted not to challenge it, and Vegas had the lead again at 3-2.

But, that didn’t come back to haunt the Stars, as after pressuring for the tying goal late in the third, Jamie Benn buried a loose puck during a net-front scramble to make it 3-3 and send the game to overtime with 1:59 left.

Like Thursday’s Game 1 on the East coast, we got an early goal in overtime, but unlike that game, this goal actually counted. Brett Howden missed on the initial setup from Mark Stone, but amid the chaos, he managed to fetch the puck behind the net and jam it past Oettinger for the winner. After only 1:35 of overtime, the Golden Knights took Game 1 with a 4-3 win.

It was a deserved win for the Golden Knights, with the slight 37-36 edge in shots, as well as 53.98% of the 5v5 shot attempts, 60.38% of the 5v5 scoring chances and 63.22% of the 5v5 expected goals. Hintz finished the night contributing on all three Stars goals with a goal and two assists, while Karlsson’s two goals and Whitecloud’s two assists led the Golden Knights, and Hill stopped 33 of 36 shots for a .917% save percentage in the win.