Jamie Benn was the first player on the ice for the Dallas Stars at the morning skate on Monday, and made it clear that he was willing his team to victory in Games 4 and 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights as he served out his two-game suspension.
“I was praying we were going to play two solid games just to get another chance and another kick at it here. I'm really proud of the guys,” Benn said after the skate. “It sucks watching, especially in playoffs. The guys had two gutsy efforts. Character wins and a lot of confidence in this room.”
Everything looked to be going against the Stars after Benn was ejected from Game 3 for cross-checking Golden Knights captain Mark Stone in the jaw, and Vegas subsequently winning the game to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.
But it's been all Dallas since; they won Games 4 and 5 and have a chance to take the series the distance if they can win a game in front of the home crowd at the American Airlines Center on Monday night.
“We just need him to be himself,” Stars blueliner Thomas Harley said about his captain. “He's got a couple extra days of rest, which I think is huge. He's our leader out there, he's our captain, so you know he's going to bring the intensity, and we're just going to follow him.”
Benn will be a huge addition to the lineup; he's amassed 11 points in 16 games for the Stars, including three goals.
Dallas coach Pete DeBoer says Benn hasn't been a good spectator in the press box as his team has faced elimination on two straight occasions.
“He's an angry bear walking around waiting to play again,” DeBoer said on Sunday. “I think he's on pins and needles. I think he'll be excited to play.”
Jamie Benn and the Stars will try again to save their season on Monday, as they look to push the series back to Las Vegas for a winner-take-all Game 7 at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night.
Follow Us
Subscribe