Lightning Gut Out Win Over Stars

Coming off of an important game against the Florida Panthers on Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in a difficult position heading into Dallas. Minus top shot-blocker Ryan McDonagh, day-to-day with a lower body injury, the rest of the team was forced to step up defensively. They did that, and the result was a gutsy 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.

Game Flow

First Period

Early on, the Lightning looked sluggish. They weren’t moving their feet and passing to nobody, giving the Stars a lot of offensive zone time. While they were unable to solve Andrei Vasilevskiy at even strength, Dallas had the Bolts running around. That proved costly, as Erik Cernak was sent to the penalty box for tripping Joe Pavelski. Down two of their best penalty killers, Tampa Bay couldn’t hold the Stars power play down. Roope Hintz got rookie Cal Foote to bite on a pass before backhanding the puck past Vasilevskiy 59 seconds into the opportunity, giving Dallas the early lead.

From there, the Lightning took control of the game. They had some nice chances in the latter half of the first period but Anton Khudobin stood tall.

Second Period

With a lot of pressure and grade-A chances to end the first, the Lightning came out in the second committed to limiting the Stars opportunities and capitalizing on their own. Things didn’t start well, with a clear by Vasilevskiy hitting another top defenseman, Mikhail Sergachev, in the face. Sergachev went down in pain for a minute before being helped up and sent to the locker room for stitches.

Facing more adversity on the back end, the Lightning had to put the lessons from last season to good use. They did, cycling the puck well and playing in the offensive zone. That hard work gave the Bolts their first power play, with Jamie Oleksiak sent off for tripping Anthony Cirelli. Nothing came from that opportunity, as the Stars held Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and company to one shot.

Less than a minute later though, Dallas ended up tempting fate. Captain Jamie Benn was sent to the box for holding young defenseman Andreas Borgman. This time, the Lightning didn’t mess around. They peppered Khudobin with shots from everywhere before breaking through 58 seconds into the opportunity. Stamkos’ shot from his ‘office’ at the left point beat Khudobin to tie the score at one apiece.

After that, the Lightning saw no letdown. In fact, they kept pushing. That hard work didn’t go unnoticed. Nearly four and a half minutes after Stamkos tied things, Yanni Gourde got to his own rebound and shot the puck home. That made it 2-1 after 40 minutes.

Third Period

Holding the Stars to one shot in the second period, the Lightning had to be ready for an onslaught entering the final frame. Each team saw some tense moments, as Hintz for Dallas and Cernak for Tampa Bay, had to be helped off the ice with injuries. Both players returned within minutes though, setting up a furious finish to this game.

It wasn’t easy, however, with the Lightning taking three penalties in the final frame. With Radek Faksa off for holding, Alex Killorn was called for slashing 11 seconds into the Bolts third power play chance. That set up 4-on-4 hockey where neither team scored.

Not long afterward, Sergachev was sent to the box for interference. That sent the Lightning to the penalty kill, a place where they’ve struggled recently. Making matters worse, Blake Coleman was penalized for hooking and the struggling PK found itself staring at a 5-on-3 for the Stars. Thankfully, the penalty killers came through at a critical point in this game, allowing the Bolts to skate away victorious.

Stats

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 16 of 17 shots to secure his 12th consecutive win, a new franchise record.

Yanni Gourde is on a four-game goal scoring streak and has points in five of his past six games.

Steven Stamkos’ nine power play goals are tied for second in the league, one behind the Stars Joe Pavelski.

With the Florida Panthers loss in Chicago, the Lightning now have a five point lead in the Central Division standings.

Next Up

The Lightning look to carry momentum from this win when they face these same Stars on Thursday, March 25. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 PM EST.