Two nights after exploding for seven goals in Chicago, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in another defensive battle. Outstanding defense and a dominant performance by Andrei Vasilevskiy proved to be key in a 3-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Game Flow
First Period
Less than 48 hours after clinching their fourth consecutive playoff appearance, the Lightning came out ready to play against a desperate Stars team. They controlled play for much of the period, limiting Dallas to one shot on goal for the first 16 minutes.
While they didn’t score, the constant pressure resulted in a penalty being drawn. Stars captain Jamie Benn was called for interference, giving the Lightning a power play. They got great looks at the net but couldn’t connect. Goaltender Jake Oettinger was a big reason why, as he slid across in time to rob Brayden Point of a sure goal at the back door. He also denied Ondrej Palat twice to keep things scoreless.
Not long after that, the Bolts found themselves out of position defensively, but a great back check by Erik Cernak hindered Benn enough that he couldn’t get much of a shot off. At the other end of the ice, a heads-up play by rookie Alex Barre-Boulet led to a defensive zone turnover by Dallas’ Jamie Oleksiak. The puck bounced right to Palat who didn’t miss, firing a shot top shelf on Oettinger to make it 1-0.
From there, the Stars upped their intensity level. They had five shots on net in the final four minutes, one of which was blocked by trade deadline acquisition David Savard. Another was a breakaway by Oleksiak that Vasilevskiy turned aside.
Second Period
If the first period was dominated by the Lightning, the second was all Stars. They limited Tampa Bay to two shots on net while peppering Vasilevskiy.
An early tripping penalty to Luke Schenn gave the Stars more momentum. They were able to get set up early in the opportunity, but the puck hit Joe Pavelski in the back and bounced harmlessly to the corner boards. That gave the Bolts penalty killers a chance to clear the zone, which they did with ease.
Unfortunately, the successful penalty kill wasn’t able to jump-start the Lightning in this period. The Stars continued to come in waves, testing Vasilevskiy with every chance. The Big Cat stood tall, making 11 saves. One of those loomed large, as the 2020 Vezina Trophy winner made two huge saves on Dallas’ top line of Roope Hintz, Pavelski and rookie Jason Robertson to keep the Bolts ahead on the scoreboard.
Third Period
Entering the final frame, the Lightning knew they needed to play like they did to start this game if they wanted to bring home two points. They did exactly that, allowing the Stars only two shots on Vasilevskiy in the final 20 minutes.
Things didn’t start out great, as Anthony Cirelli was penalized for high sticking. That sent Dallas to their second power play of the night. As they began to set up, a turnover in the neutral zone sent Blake Coleman off to the races. He was tripped up from behind to prevent a shorthanded goal, but the officials granted him a penalty shot. Coleman didn’t miss, giving the Lightning a 2-0 lead.
After that failed power play, the Stars looked defeated. They got a few chances, but nothing too dangerous. Oettinger was pulled for the extra attacker with about three minutes remaining, but Dallas didn’t mount much of an attack. Yanni Gourde tried to hit the empty net twice, but failed. Finally, with time winding down, Point got to the blue line and fired a bullet straight into the open net to make it 3-0.
Game Notes
- Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his fifth shutout and 30th win this season. Three of his five shutouts have come against the Stars. Also, with that win, he passes Ben Bishop for the most 30 win seasons in franchise history.
- Blake Coleman’s shorthanded penalty shot goal in the third period was the first of his career.
- Ondrej Palat extended his point streak to seven games.
- After a rough stretch from mid March to late April, the Lightning have four straight wins and five in six games. That keeps them within striking distance of both the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes for the Central Division crown.
Next Up
The Lightning look to keep rolling as they head north to take on the Detroit Red Wings in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 PM EST on both days.