Dallas Stars forward Denis Gurlanov scored three minutes into overtime to lift the Stars to a 3-2 win over the Las Vegas Golden Knights, sending them to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Stars eliminated the Golden Knights in five games and will represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years.
It has truly been a strange season for Dallas, that came with many ups and downs, making the trip to the finals even sweeter for the team and fans that have been long for the ride.
The Stars started off the season winning only one of their first nine games and ended the season with a six-game losing streak. However, they played like the best team in the league between those two strange periods of losing.
Dallas then fired their coach in December and have been led to the finals by interim coach Rick Bowness.
Gurianov’s goal in overtime came after a frantic third period in which the Stars were down 0-2. Jamie Benn and Joel Kiviranta netted two goals in the final period, taking the Stars into overtime where Gurianov would seal the deal and punch the team’s ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Stars will face the winner of the Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Islanders series, which Tampa Bay leads 3-1.
