On January 29th, the news broke that the Dallas Stars would be playing the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2027 NHL Stadium Series game outside at the home of the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
It was appropriate timing that this announcement was made when Vegas was playing Dallas that night. Kind of ironic it was at their barn in Las Vegas at T Mobile Arena.
Vegas’ first ever NHL game
October 6th, 2017 the Golden Knights played their first NHL regular season game in team history. Their opponent: the Stars at the AAC. Former Star James Neal scored both goals in the third period for Vegas in a 2-1 loss for the Stars.
Despite the business as usual competition, both teams shared a moment of solidarity before the game. Days before the game on October 6th, 2017, there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas. As players from both teams stood together under the theme of #VegasStrong. A highlight in the rivalry of respect, and unity. It’ll forever trump any bad blood of a heated hockey game.
Playoffs
Like former Stars head coach Rick Bowness once said; rivalries are born in the playoffs. Dallas, and Vegas have met in the playoffs three times here in the 2020s. With the Stars taking two of three as they went back and forth.
In 2020 it was the Stars, and Anton Khudobin who knocked off the Golden Knights in the western conference finals in five games. Vegas got the upper hand in 2023 in the west finals on Dallas on the back of winning games one and two past 60 minutes. Splitting the rest of the way as they won that series in six.
The next year in 2024, this time a surprising first round matchup, the Stars prevailed in seven games despite spotting the Golden Knights a two nil series lead. Radek Faksa playing the hero in a knock down, drag out low scoring series.
Mark Stone: the villain
In the eyes of Stars fans, and really the rest of the NHL, Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is the most hated player in the game today. From exploiting the LTIR loophole to questionable hits, Stone has made a name for himself being one of the leagues biggest villains.
Not only is Stone known as a villain to the rest of the NHL, he’s had a bad reputation amongst Stars fans too. Especially after injuring Miro Heiskanen last year. Causing Heiskanen to miss the next four months after suffering one of the most dangerous injuries in the sport.
Take it outside
Dallas, and Vegas don’t like each other. Another piece of proof is in the hit column. The Stars play a more physical brand of hockey against Vegas than most any other team. Vegas is the more physical team between the two. They hit more often on average, and they’re bigger than the Stars. In rivalries, many recurring themes get thrown out the window though.
It’s worth noting the Stars also had a rare night where they out hit their opponent in their last meeting with Vegas, 29-26.
Photo credit: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
So with a big, physical team like the Golden Knights enabling a more aggressive side to the Stars, it’s yet another reason to take the intensity outdoors. Depending on the ice conditions, we might just see a chippy physical game on ice played between two rivals.
Featured photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie/Imagn Images
Tags: #2027 #AT&TStadium #Faksa #Hits #NHL #Outdoors #Physical #StadiumSeries #TexasHockey #VegasBorn #Villain Rivalry
Categorized:Stars