Stars defense implodes, coughs up brutal goal in Game 5.

A pair of Dallas Stars defensemen are going to have to take a long hard look in the mirror tonight if their team is eliminated in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.

Although both Ryan Suter and Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars are considered to be quality defensemen in the National Hockey League, they both will be kicking themselves for a pair of major misplays that occurred back to back during the game's opening period.

Heiskanen and Suter did everything but roll out the red carpet for Las Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev, who would pick up the game's opening goal thanks in no small part to the Stars' defensive pairing. Heiskanen would start the fiasco by delivering a hit that connected with nothing except teammate Wyatt Johnston, taking him out of the play in the process.

That left Barbashev in a 1 on 1 situation with Suter in front of the Stars net, but Suter would inexplicably leave the front of the net to pick up another player, giving Barbashev a wide open lane to the net.

It looks even worse from the reverse angle:

A still shot of Suter vacating the front of the net also paints a damning picture of the blown coverage by the Dallas Stars defense: