Marc-Andre Fleury got the surprise start for Vegas. He played a strong game stopping 24 of 25 shots. But the goal he let in was just two-and-a-half minutes in, which put Dallas in the driver's seat early and they could then just clamp down and play risk-free hockey. But Vegas wasn't in the game from the start. They forgot to set their alarm, or maybe it just went off in the third period when they finally showed up.

In his last three starts, Fleury is 2-1, 1.69 GAA and 0.940 SV%

Anton Khudobin continues to pad his next contract with the 25-save shutout. The day after Thomas Greiss becomes the ninth goalie in NHL history to record his first career playoff shutout at the age of 34 or old – Khudobin becomes the 10th goalie in history to do the same.

Alexander Radulov played just 11:46 and saw only three shifts in the third period. The Stars played clamp-down hockey with their slim lead, and Radulov is definitely not a part of that…

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https://twitter.com/DobberHockey/status/1302692631311462404

This certainly helps the Islanders, who are a team already built for the big upset. And here's why.

While most teams are focused on having the best players in the lineup, the Islanders have done a great job on having the right players in their lineup. The first-line left winger is a left winger who is best used on the first line. The third-line right winger is a right winger who checks, works hard, and can chip in top-nine points. The fourth-line center is a faceoff stud, a feisty checker. The right-side third-pairing defenseman is a defenseman suitable for that role. I could go on listing every position here, but you get the idea. There are no second-line wingers being used on the fourth line, and no third-line centers being used as a first-line winger. They don't have five puck-moving defensemen, they have three puck-moving defensemen and each one is paired with a defensive and/or gritty partner. Coach Barry Trotz can (and does) roll out each of his four lines steadily, and each line goes out and does the job. As a bonus, he could close his eyes and draw names from a hat to determine which of his fine goalies to start. Tampa Bay can beat this team in terms of matching up skill versus skill for each position. But they don't have an answer for Cal Clutterbuck – Casey Cizikas – Matt Martin. And I even give the edge to the Derick Brassard – J-G Pageau – Michael Dal Colle line versus Blake Coleman – Yanni Gourde – Barclay Goodrow line simply because Pageau is such a clutch playoff player. Coleman is no slouch, but Gourde is the miscast weakness here in that particular role.

It's a team built to play a team system, which is right up Trotz's alley. I think he can coach his way to a win here, even though Tampa is the far superior team on paper. The domino effect of no Stamkos hurts Tampa's depth lines, and they have no answer for that Islander checking line.

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The following prospects were loaned to a European League, but I expect them back for training camp which presumably opens in mid-November. The extra game action should give these European prospects a leg up on making the team or making an impact versus their North American colleagues in the same situation. Also added, with a note, those prospects who signed (rather than were loaned) and likely gone for at least a full year.

Anaheim Ducks

Axel Andersson

Lukas Dostal

 Arizona Coyotes

Victor Soderstrom

Boston Bruins

Peter Cehlarik – he's signed for two years in the SHL and is not on loan. So he's gone.

Jakub Lauko

Jakub Zboril

Oskar Steen

Buffalo Sabres

Rasmus Asplund

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Arttu Ruotsalainen

Calgary Flames

Andrew Nielsen – Signed, not loaned.

Martin Pospisil

Carolina Hurricanes

Dominik Bokk

Chicago Blackhawks

Phillip Kurashev

Michal Teply

Tim Soderlund

Joni Tuulola

Pius Suter

Colorado Avalanche

Vladislav Kamenev – Signed, not loaned.

Martin Kaut

Columbus Blue Jackets

Calvin Thurkauf

Emil Bemstrom

Alexandre Texier

Dallas Stars

Martin Hanzal – He's not a prospect of course, but interesting that his contract is now up and rather than retire due to chronic back issues, he decided to sign a contract back home in one of the Czech leagues.

Reece Scarlett – Signed, not loaned.

Detroit Red Wings

Filip Hronek

Moritz Seider

Filip Zadina

Mathias Brome

Gustav Lindstrom

Filip Larsson

Some big names here for Detroit, and this can only help. There are three possible roster players listed here, plus their likely third-string goaltender. Also…they have a lot of Filips, eh?

Edmonton Oilers

Raphael Lavoie

Ryan McLeod

Joakim Nygard

Philip Broberg

Filip Berglund

Jesse Puljujarvi – Signed, but with an 'out' clause for the NHL.

Kirill Maksimov

Markus Niemelainen

Theodor Lennstrom

Dmitri Samorukov

Gaetan Haas

Evan Bouchard

Wow! Edmonton wasn't going to be outdone by Detroit here, even sending a couple of North American prospects overseas to get in the extra work and development. Very big names listed here.

Florida Panthers

Antti Saarela

Aleksi Heponiemi

Vladislav Kolyachonok

Eetu Luostarinen

Rodrigo Abols

Los Angeles Kings

Tobias Bjornfot

Samuel Fagemo

Jacob Moverare

Johan Sodergran

Nikolai Prokhorkin – Signed, not loaned. And his contract in the KHL is for two years. So, now 26, his NHL dream is almost certainly over.

Minnesota Wild

Alexander Khovanov

Ivan Lodnia

Brennan Menell – Signed, not loaned! This one caught me by surprise, as Menell was making huge strides as a prospect and shooting quickly up my Prospects list. He signed to play one year in the KHL and from what I could dig up there is no out clause. His ranking takes a big hit here. He was ranked 32 as a fantasy prospect defenseman and now he slips out of the Top 80.

Montreal Canadiens

Lukas Vejdemo

Otto Leskinen

Nashville Predators

Eeli Tolvanen

Daniel Carr – Signed, not loaned.

New Jersey Devils

Nick Merkley – Signed, not loaned, but does have an NHL out clause.

Mirco Mueller

Marian Studenic

Yegor Sharangovich

Julian Melchiori – Signed, not loaned.

New York Islanders

Simon Holmstrom

Oliver Wahlstrom

Linus Soderstrom

New York Rangers

Vitali Kravtsov

Lias Andersson

Yegor Rykov

Libor Hajek

Adam Huska

Ottawa Senators

Lassi Thomson

Vitali Abramov

Philadelphia Flyers

German Rubtsov

David Kase

Maksim Sushko

Pittsburgh Penguins

Jesper Lindgren

Kasper Bjorkqvist

Radim Zohorna

Pontus Aberg – Signed in the KHL, not loaned. So his trade from Toronto was probably a paper move, but he 'may' have an out clause in that contract (I was unable to dig up confirmation one way or the other)

San Jose Sharks

Josef Korenar

Tim Heed – Signed, not loaned.

Fredrik Handemark

St. Louis Blues

Nobody

Tampa Bay Lightning

Cory Conacher – Signed, not loaned.

Dominik Masin – Signed, not loaned.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Yegor Korshkov

Mikko Lehtonen

Filip Kral

Jesper Lindgren

Vancouver Canucks

Nils Höglander

Nikita Tryamkin – Signed, not loaned.

Lukas Jasek

Vegas Golden Knights

Jiri Patera

Washington Capitals

Alex Alexeyev

Aliaksei Protas

Damien Riat

Tobias Geisser

Winnipeg Jets

David Gustafsson

Ville Heinola

Leon Gawanke

JC Lipon – Signed, not loaned.

Michael Spacek – Signed, not loaned. Unsure of existence of an out clause.

Andrei Chibisov – Signed a three-year deal in the KHL, so his NHL dream is probably over.

Arvid Holm

There are certainly some interesting names there and worthy of more attention than a quick skim, in my opinion.

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Players who went unsigned after their fourth season of college, became free agents on August 15, and then possibly signed elsewhere:

Matt Filipe – Carolina didn't sign him, he then signed with Boston. Ranked 153 on my Top Prospect Forwards

Cam Morrison – Colorado didn't sign him, he then signed with Chicago. Ranked 435 on my Top Prospect forwards, but moves up with this news due to reduced wait time.

Ryan Shea – Chicago didn't sign him, he then signed with Dallas. Ranked 129 on my Top Fantasy Prospect Defensemen and moves up slightly with this news.

Denis Smirnov – Colorado did not sign him. Still unsigned.

Carson Meyer – Columbus did not sign him. Still unsigned.

Graham McPhee – Edmonton did not sign him. Still unsigned.

Patrick Shea, Benjamin Finkelstein, Karch Bachman, Miguel Fidler – Florida did not sign them. Still unsigned.

Nick Pastujov – NY Islanders did not sign him. Still unsigned.

Christopher Wilkie – Ottawa did not sign him. Still unsigned.

Nikita Pavlychev, Ryan Jones – Pittsburgh did not sign them and they remained unsigned.

Karlis Cukste – San Jose did not sign him. Still unsigned.

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One of the very first writers on DobberHockey, Jim Gunther, has launched a new business. You can check it out here. It’s bubble-hockey-themed t-shirts, canvas wraps (for the man cave), and other framed prints.

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Thank you everyone for the well wishes and warm thoughts last week. When I was going through this three years ago, I can't stress enough how much your comments and notes meant to me. I honestly read them all at least two or three times (probably more) while in the hospital back then, and came away feeling resolved that I was going to beat it.

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See you next Monday.