To say that a game can end in the first period is folly. Yet the first period looked to be just that. The Lightning scored three goals and two on the powerplay. Essentially, this put the game away in three minutes. In a game that Tampa was seeking revenge, the hot start was the antidote. The first period saw everything go right for Tampa and everything go wrong for Dallas.
The power play reminded us that Tampa Bay has one of the best passing attacks in the game. Brayden Point got a beautiful feed from Nikita Kucherov. Ondrej Palat got an incredible cross-ice pass from Kucherov that left Stars goalie Anton Khudobin out of place for the save. Both goals can be blamed on the Dallas Stars for giving the Lightning early power plays.
The final goal in the first period was a reminder of how important it is to crowd the net. We have seen countless times, the ability of the Stars to crowd the net for shots. Kevin Shattenkirk’s slapshot from the point gave the Stars a taste of their own medicine. Kevin Shattenkirk didn’t have a great shot per se, but Anton Khudobin couldn’t see the puck.
And that’s all she wrote!
The three-goal lead was all Tampa needed. Dallas would make the game close. Unfortunately, it would be too little too late. John Klingberg would set up a Pavelski deflection into the net in the second. Klingberg would also set up Mattias Janmark with another beautiful pass. The Lightning was on their heels in the third but held on and won 3-2.
So far the series has shaped up to be one we anticipated. There is a rarity of goals, plenty of hard hits, and mistakes that lead to costly goals. The series can go either way and we look to have a long series. After the first game, we almost were certain Stamkos would play in the series but now doubt lingers again. The top line for Tampa was superb, it’s hard to see Stamkos on playing much of that ice time. We might have to see Stamkos on a later line but after tonight, we might see Tampa wait it out once again.
Where do the Stars go from here?
One would think that this should insight panic for the Stars. Anton Khudobin might be getting tired and it looked that way in the first period. This loss isn’t putting Dallas on the ropes, rather it was expected. Tampa is considered the better team, the Stars were trying to steal two games. Tampa was going to break even but the Stars are entering Game Three with the series tied. The Stars have the Lightning where they want them and a Game Three win will swing back the momentum.
