“What a player,” Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said the 20-year-old forward. “He still can’t get in the casino and play cards, he’s not old enough, it’s unbelievable.
Johnston’s shots on goal tied a career high, as he was arguably Dallas’ best player.
“You don’t want to go down 3-0 to the defending Stanley Cup champs,” Johnston said. “So I think it’s that desperation coming out and making sure we’re doing all those things that make us successful.”
Miro Heiskanen also scored for the Stars, and Jake Oettinger made 32 saves. The Stars had lost six straight against Vegas, which was hosting its first home playoff game since winning the Stanley Cup last June.
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Brayden McNabb and Jack Eichel scored for Vegas, and Thompson stopped a career-high 43 shots. Dallas, which averaged 31.5 shots per game during the regular season, held a whopping advantage of high-danger shots, 27-4.
Game 4 is Monday night in Las Vegas.
“It’s huge,” Oettinger said. “I mean, you lose that game you’re down 3-0 and you never know what happens there. So, we win a game on Monday, we have home-ice advantage again.”
Johnston opened the scoring midway through the first period when he backhanded a loose puck off a rebound through Thompson’s pads.
