Johnston is a big reason the Stars are considered Stanley Cup contenders.
Selected in the first round (No. 23) of the 2021 NHL Draft, he had 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists) in 82 games as a 19-year-old rookie last season, then six points (four goals, two assists) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He had 65 points (32 goals, 33 assists) in 82 games this season, leading Dallas in goals.
The Stars have a mix of players on their roster — veterans hungry for a championship, players in the middle of their NHL careers and young up-and-comers like Johnston.
“We’ve taken a lot of pride in the different ages we have on our team, the different times of the careers we have,” veteran forward Tyler Seguin said. “[We’ve seen] him 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 as his age, that’s great.”
After averaging 3.59 goals per game in the regular season, third in the NHL, Dallas had four goals in the first two games against Vegas.
The Stars responded by dominating the first 30 minutes of Game 3.
Johnston backhanded a rebound between the pads of goalie Logan Thompson 11:11 into the first period to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen finished a tic-tac-toe play at 5:25 of the second to make it 2-0.
Midway through regulation, the Stars were outshooting the Golden Knights 30-10. Thompson was the only reason their lead wasn’t larger.
“He was like Dominik Hasek down there,” Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said. “He was incredible.”
Vegas came back to tie it 2-2. Defenseman Brayden McNabb scored at 10:40 of the second, and center Jack Eichel followed with a shorthanded goal 3:10 later. The second half of regulation, the Golden Knights outshot the Stars 17-8.
But the Stars stuck with it, even though Thompson continued to shine.
Thompson stopped Johnston with his left pad at 14:28 of overtime. Then Johnston took a pass at the red line, accelerated over the blue line, darted to the right and cut around defenseman Shea Theodore. As Theodore stretched out his stick, Johnston flicked the puck over Thompson’s left shoulder and under the crossbar.