Burns: 3 Things we learned from a shootout win in Dallas

The Tampa Bay Lightning appeared well on their way to their third win in as many meetings with the Dallas Stars this season holding a 3-1 lead with less than three minutes remaining.
The Stars weren't about to make it easy on the Lightning, however.
With netminder Jake Oettinger pulled for the extra attacker, Dallas scored twice, first on Jamie Benn's goal with 2:06 remaining to cut the deficit to 3-2 and again with 1:25 to go on a centering feed that deflected off a couple different players in front before bouncing off Alexander Radulov and crossing the goal line to tie the game 3-3.
After a back-and-forth overtime couldn't produce a winner, however, the Lightning turned to an unlikely source to spark them in a shootout and converted on both of their attempts while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped two-of-three Dallas attempts in a 4-3 Lightning victory.

Tampa Bay collected its 20th win of the season, joining Carolina as the only teams in the NHL to reach the mark. The Lightning leapfrogged the Hurricanes in the Central Division standings and moved into second place, one point behind Florida.
The Bolts showed urgency from the start in Dallas and resolve when the Stars nearly stole a win away from them.
Here's what we learned about the Lightning from the shootout victory.

1. HEDMAN REACHES RARIFIED AIR
Victor Hedman notched the 500th point of his NHL career on Tuesday, becoming just the fifth Lightning player all-time to reach the milestone and first defenseman.
How he got No. 500 was fitting too.
With Tampa Bay on the power play in the third period and holding a 2-1 lead, Brayden Point carried the puck into the slot and dished off to his left for Steven Stamkos. The Lightning captain moved the puck back to the point for Hedman, who sent it right back to Stamkos, teeing him up to hammer a one-timer from his office to extend the Bolts' lead to 3-1.
Since Hedman entered the NHL in 2009, he's made a habit of setting Stamkos up for goals, particularly on the power play.
That connection combined one more time to produce Hedman's milestone.
"Good things happen when you try and find 91 for a one-timer," Hedman said after the game, smiling.
Hedman becomes the 72nd defenseman all-time in the NHL to reach 500 points and is the 11th active defenseman to do so.
"It's very special," he said. "It's one of those things that you don't really pay attention to until it's close. It's one of those things that I put the pressure on myself to be one of those guys that produce offensively."
Hedman notched his 22nd assist and 27th point of the season. He continues to pace all NHL blueliners for points and is having another outstanding season worthy of Norris Trophy consideration.
"500 of anything is quite a milestone," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "How apropos that it comes off a one-timer from Stammer, his buddy. Pretty cool how it all played out. I've watched that kid get a lot of huge points for us. In the last few years, he's really grown into a complete player. To me, he's one of the best if not the best defenseman in the league, and he shows it night in and night out at such a tough position to play. To watch these guys hit milestones, it's really gratifying."

2. THE UNLIKELY SOURCE
Ross Colton was sitting on the bench while the ice crew cleaned the playing surface before Tuesday's shootout when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Assistant coach Jeff Halpern leaned in and asked him if he was any good in shootouts.
"I just looked back and said, 'I'm pretty good. I've got a couple moves,'" Colton said. "So in my mind, if I'm being honest with you, I thought maybe if it went to round four or five or six, maybe I was going to get my number called."
After Jason Robertson converted Dallas' first attempt of the shootout, Colton got a kick in the butt.
It was Halpern again, letting him know the staff wanted him to open the shootout for the Lightning.
"I was like, 'Okay, here we go,'" he said.
Colton skated confidently onto the puck, veered off to the side and fired a quick shot that Stars goalie Jake Oettinger had little chance to save.
"It's one of my go-to moves that I try to just work on," Colton said. "When I get called on in a shootout or a situation like that, that's one of the ones I want to go to. It's kind of just trying to open up the hips a little bit and get outside the goalie there because it's a tough blocker save coming across the body with a lefty. Over the years, I've just tried to work on that. It's a really tough move for the goalies to save, and luckily it worked tonight."
On the bench, Cal Foote was sitting next to Victor Hedman and told Hedman exactly what move Colton would use in the shootout. Foote has seen Colton's shootout arsenal plenty over the last couple seasons with the two playing together in Syracuse.
"He called it, and then I called Pointer's," Hedman said, referring to Brayden Point's successful shootout attempt in the second round. "We had it down. I thought (Colton's) been tremendous the games he's played. He brings a lot of energy to that line and they scored a big goal for us there in the second period. Absolutely no nerves whatsoever. Beautiful shootout move, and a big reason we won the game today."
The shootout goal was but one part of a big night for the Lightning rookie, playing just his fourth NHL game. He provided the second assist on Tampa Bay's second goal, Colton holding the puck down below the goal line before Pat Maroon could skate onto it and deliver a pass out in front of goal for Mathieu Joseph to one-time into the back of the net to put the Bolts back in front 2-1.
Colton recorded the first assist of his NHL career and now has two points in four games.
His chemistry on the fourth line with Maroon and Joseph was a big factor in Tampa Bay's victory Tuesday.
"It's awesome. I'm really happy for Colton," Maroon said. "He's done everything the team has asked him. He's come in. He's worked hard. He's put his head down and done the little things to make him earn a spot in the lineup. Very happy for him, he deserves it. He's going to keep getting rewarded by the work ethic he's been putting in. You can see it on the ice. He's adapting pretty well. He's winning face-offs. He's doing the little things that make him successful, and it's good to see."

3. AN URGENT START
Tampa Bay waited until it trailed 3-0 entering the third period of Monday's loss to Nashville before playing with the desperation required to produce a positive result. By then, it was too late.
A night later in Dallas, the Lightning brought that jump right from the opening puck drop.
Tampa Bay was all over the Stars in the first period Tuesday, possessing the puck for most of the 20 minutes and sending multiple waves of attack at Stars goalie Jake Oettinger. The Lightning outshot the Stars 19-6 in the period, the 19 shots the most in a period this season for the Bolts. And they took an early 1-0 lead when Ondrej Palat's stretch pass hit Brayden Point in stride and the dynamic centerman backhanded a shot five-hole into the back of the net just 3:55 into the contest.
The Lightning probably should have exited the first period with a multiple goal lead, but Oettinger played brilliantly in net to keep the Stars within striking distance.
"I thought our first period was one of our best periods of the year," Pat Maroon said. "I thought we came out. We held them to (six) shots. We got the shot-scramble game going. Pally makes a great play on Pointer's breakaway, but I thought we could have scored more in that first period. Their goalie stood tall, made some really big saves. You've got to tip your cap sometimes, but I just knew we were going to break through. It was just a matter of time."
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said he was disappointed in his team's play over the last week or so, particularly their puck management. That's partially why they had lost two of three games heading into Dallas.
On Tuesday, the Lightning got back to their game, and they did it from the start, putting the Stars on their heels and forcing them to play from behind for most of the contest.
"I thought that was a great period," Hedman said. "Played with a lot of pace, we were up ice and created a lot of scoring chances and had a lot of good looks. We weren't happy with the way we played last game against Nashville. It was tough back-to-back, fly in last night and right back at it against a good Dallas team. Very happy with the way we played for most of the night and especially that first period."