Does Dallas Have Enough Fight Left To Force A Game 5? - SinBin.vegas

Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1]

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

Stop me if you've heard this one. No team in NHL history has come back from an 0-3 conference finals deficit. The downward-spiraling Dallas Stars will try and begin a historic run tonight with a win in Game 4. Win or lose, in all likelihood the Golden Knights have done enough to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. It's just a matter of when.

So, what should the Golden Knights expect from a Stars team that the record books have shown they have nothing to play for?

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That's the approach we're going to take with the rest of the series. We're not going to get back in the series tomorrow night, but we'll take a bite and see what happens. - Pete DeBoer, DAL coach

As former NHL goaltender Mike McKenna reminds us weekly; hockey players have a lot of pride. So, of course the Stars have something to play for but it's unlikely to be for the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. It's hard to believe Dallas' locker room, coaching staff and fanbase have any confidence in a four-game win streak but a victory in Game 4 would give them some sense of false hope. Even if Dallas can return home for a desperate Game 6, history is still heavily against them.

Assuming Vegas comes out as sharp as they have all series, the home team will be up against it from the opening puck drop. The Golden Knights will be hungry to sweep the series and earn as much rest as the Eastern Conference champions Florida Panthers. Dallas will be down two impact forwards but it's not the focus around the locker room. The Stars are taking a simple approach into tomorrow's elimination game.

We're just worried about trying to get our first win in this series. That's all that matters. We're going to have to play desperate hockey now. Our lives are at stake here and I'm looking forward to it. This group has answered when our backs are against the wall. We're going to find a way to muster up a good 60 minutes and find a way to beat a really good team. We're going to have a hungry team tomorrow - Max Domi, DAL forward

Forwards Max Domi, Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin understand the hole they are in. All three are optimistic but aren't overlooking their challenging opponent. Vegas has exceptionally executed their game plan all series long and have kept their emotions in check. The Golden Knights have been the much more structured through three games, but the Stars, down three games, still believe there isn't a giant gap between the two clubs.

I honestly think the margins are really slim. Game 1 we didn't play great but found ourselves in overtime. Game 2, we played a great game leading with a minute left, we lose in overtime. That's how quickly these series change. You find a way to win one of those overtime games, it turns that quickly. We just got to find a way to win a game tomorrow. -DeBoer

Tonight's game could come down to the opening goal. In Game's 1 & 2 in Las Vegas, the Stars scored first but the outcome didn't go their way in either game. The Golden Knights answered first on Tuesday in Dallas and were rewarded with a dominant 4-0 performance.

Vegas is feeling it right now, and Dallas can detect it.

You look at Vegas. They're playing with a lot of confidence right now because they're capitalizing on chances, they're bearing down. That's all it takes. It can be as simple as one shift. We've done it all year. We've responded all year. -Domi

The Stars have said all the right things going into tonight's Game 4. It's possible Jamie Benn's two-game suspension galvanized Dallas' locker room and they end up forcing a return trip to Southern Nevada. However, the Golden Knights have also said the right things and they've been winning. History may have them advancing but they'll only acknowledge that until the take a picture around a silver bowl that nobody will touch.