Stars “Out” Of The West, Into The NHL Final

The Dallas Stars, down (2-0) in the third period, when I went to sleep, rode rookie, Denis Gurianov’s overtime goal to (3-2) Las Vegas (Golden Knights) taking their “semi” in 5, to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years.

Veteran Jamie Benn and Joel Kiviranta (he had the game 7/”quarters” overtime hat trick winner vs Colorado (Avalanche)-speaking of Colorado sports and game 7, tomorrow, a post after tonight’s game 7/NBA “qtrs” Denver Nuggets vs the Los Angeles Clippers) scored goals to tie the tilt, before Gurianov (he had 4 goals in the Stars’ “round of 16” clincher vs Calgary (Flames), a game in which Dallas trailed 3-0), won it.

Once again Anton Khudobin was outstanding for the Stars in goal.

While Las Vegas, with final round and first round losses, before this “semis” loss in their first 3 seasons, clearly is a success story to this point–it is noted they lost games (2-5) in the final vs the Washington Capitals in ’18, the last 3 to dissipate a (3-1) series lead to San Jose (Sharks), coached by their current coach Peter DeBoer last season and now lose games 1 and (3-5) to the Stars.

The Stars, “out” of the West, will face the winner of the Tampa Bay Lightning/New York Islanders “semi” which the Lightning lead 3 games to 1.

Why in addition to his greatness as a player and coach is Jacques Lemaire pictured above? 

One week after Lemaire turned 75, Denis Gurianov became the 4th NHL rookie to score a semi-final round clinching overtime goal. Mr. Lemaire in 1968, in a Saturday afternoon, nationally televised “virtual Cup clincher,” as the Canadiens’ opponent was to be an expansion team, was the first to do so. 

Though it was not that easy, those ’68 Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues (the Blues had beaten the then Mnnesota North Stars, now the Dallas Stars, in the semis) to win the Stanley Cup.

The other two rookies to score a semi-final round clinching overtime goal were Darren Helm for the ’09 Detroit Red Wings and Adam Henrique for the 2012 New Jersey Devils. Both their teams lost in the subsequent NHL final series.