Stars praise young OT hero Johnston: 'Still can't get in the casino'

The Stars found themselves in awe of Wyatt Johnston after the 20-year-old forward's dominant Game 3 performance prevented Dallas from going down 3-0 in its first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.

"What a player," head coach Pete DeBoer said after his team's 3-2 overtime victory Saturday night, according to The Associated Press. "He still can't get in the casino and play cards - he's not old enough. It's unbelievable."

"Really incredible play by one of ... the great young players, the next generation of stars of this league. I thought he was just outstanding tonight for a kid to be under 21 years old and be on that ice with that level of player and look like he did all night tonight, just an outstanding player."

Johnston scored a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, to get the Western Conference's top seed on the board in the series.

He's the youngest player in franchise history to score an OT postseason goal, surpassing Steve Ott, who was 21 years old when he played the hero during Game 3 of the 2004 Western Conference quarterfinals.

Johnston's excellent night wasn't limited to just the final scoresheet, either: He was credited with a team-high eight shots, nine scoring chances, and a whopping 15 shot attempts at all strengths, according to Natural Stat Trick.

"Maybe he's gotta pass one of them, I don't know," veteran forward Tyler Seguin joked, per Bally Sports Southwest.

He added, "Seeing (Johnston) last year, and then how much he's evolved to this year - it's one thing being elite in the regular season but to do it in playoffs, at his age, that's great."

This is Johnston's second NHL campaign. He led the Stars with 32 goals and tied for third with 65 points in 82 contests during the regular season.

The Stars were up 2-0 at the midway mark of the middle frame Saturday, but the Golden Knights scored twice before the second intermission to tie things up. Vegas netminder Logan Thompson was outstanding, turning aside 43 of 45 shots before Johnston scored the dagger late in the extra frame.

"We have a kid here that's elite and won the game for us," Seguin said.

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

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