Vegas has to win two straight games to advance.

The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, are facing elimination in the first round of the playoffs as they are now down 3-2 in their series against the Dallas Stars. The Stars were the better team in the regular season, but after the Golden Knights won the first two games of this series on the road, it looked like they had a good shot to advance. Now, it’s not looking so likely.

After winning games one and two on the road, the Golden Knights had a great chance at home to take full control of the series. They lost both home games, however, and then the series shifted back to Dallas for game five.

Game five took place on Wednesday night, and a late power play goal in the second period lifted the Stars over the Golden Knights, and Las Vegas is now facing elimination.

“We’ll hang our hats on the fact that we’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, so there’s lots of resolve in that room, a lot of winners in that room, a lot of pride in that room,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said, according to an article from NHL.com. “So, we’ve got to go home and win one game in the playoffs. That’s something we’re certainly capable of. Will it happen? Dallas is going to have a lot of say in that. [But] it’s not this obstacle that we can’t do. It’s a home win, so let’s get after it, get some rest tomorrow and be ready to go.”

Golden Knights need to stay composed if they want to win this series

© Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

One issue that a lot of the Golden Knights talked about was their composure. The penalty late in the second ended up costing them the game as the Stars scored on the power play to go up 3-2, and the score held. Alex Pietrangelo was the one that went to the box as he took a cheap shot at Tyler Seguin, and Cassidy didn’t like it.

“Listen, we didn’t like the hit on Theodore by Seguin,” Cassidy said. “Quite obvious, left his feet, targeted the head. So, you’re going to be upset, right? But that’s playoff hockey. You’ve got to find a way to channel it, and then there’s controlled aggression out there all over the ice in every series. That’s an area [where] you’ve got to take a number and try to get those things squared away [later].”

After going down 2-0 in the series, the Stars are now up 3-2 and in full control. Alec Martinez knows that the Golden Knights need to keep things in check in game six if they are going to come out on top.

“There’s going to be momentum shifts throughout games and throughout series, and you’ve got to handle that with composure, and I think we let our emotions get the best of us in the second there,” Martinez said. “It was obviously penalty trouble, but we got away from our game. I think (we) had a little too much panic in our game, a little bit too much of a fire drill. I mean, we’ve just got to handle the emotional side of it better. He’s a leader on this team. You know, playoffs are an emotional time. It’s a revved-up environment. Can’t win without emotion, either. But you’ve got to keep it in check.”

The Golden Knights will look to keep their season alive on Friday night as game six will get going at 10 ET on TNT.