Steven Stamkos made his postseason debut in a 5-2 Tampa Bay Lightning victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 3 to take the lead in the series at Rogers Place Arena in Edmonton on Wednesday.
Stamkos gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead after he scored on his first shot after missing all 21 playoff games to a lower-body injury he sustained before training camp began on July 13.
“We knew it was going to be tricky to try to get into a game. It’s been such a long time,” Stamkos said. “At this time of the year, you want to do everything you can to help your team win. I’ve watched these guys be so committed to what our end goal is, and to be a part of it tonight it was a dream come true.”
Stamkos had surgery to repair a core muscle injury on March 2 and missed the last seven games for Tampa Bay before the NHL season was paused due to the coronavirus.
“He’s been working so hard to come back,” Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said of Stamkos. “He hasn’t given up. It’s just a true testament to him as a player and as a person, and it’s the reason why he wears the ‘C’ on his jersey.”
Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Ondrej Palat led the scoring for the Lightning, each having a goal and an assist.
Jason Dickinson was able to put Dallas on the board about halfway through the first, making it a one-goal game at 2-1.
Dallas would not add another tally until the third period when Miro Heiskanen scored to make it 5-2.
Anton Khudonin allowed five goals on 29 shots and was replaced by Jake Oettinger in net for the third period.
In a best-of-seven Cup Final, when the series is tied after two games, the winner of Game three is 22-7 (75.9 percent) winning the series.
Game four of the Stanley Cup Final will be on Friday.
