While the second and third followed the aforementioned script - the Stars with possession, but the Lightning defending hard and keeping them off the board - the first period unfolded differently. The first half of the frame was a wide-open track meet. Both teams were leaky in rush coverage, so each generated terrific looks off the rush. While there were multiple close calls on both sides and each goalie provided his team with key saves, the Lightning were the ones to convert. It was beautiful passing sequence in which the puck went up the ice from Braydon Coburn to Yanni Gourde to Steven Stamkos. It ended with Ondrej Palat finishing a one-timer from the right circle.
Things settled down in the second half of the first period as both teams tightened up their rush coverage. Instead, the final 10 minutes of the frame saw the clubs both enjoy some extended offensive zone shifts, but those sequences didn't result in a goal. Then, once the second period began, the ice became tilted in favor of the Stars.
In addition to the Palat goal, there were other significant plays that impacted the game. During the second half of a four-minute penalty kill in the second period, the Lightning committed another infraction. The Stars had a long five-on-three power play pending. Once the penalty was called, they could have given the puck to the Lightning, which would have stopped the clock and officially started the five-on-three. Instead, the Stars put the extra attacker on the ice during the delayed call and tried to score. Not only did they not score, they took a penalty themselves when Jamie Benn knocked over Vasilevskiy. The Benn penalty wiped away the extended two-man advantage.
In the third period, following another Lightning penalty, Anton Stralman slipped free past several Stars players and began an odd-man shorthanded rush. With Cedric Paquette in position to score, Benn had to take another penalty. So the Stars power play ended early and the teams began skating four-on-four. During that four-on-four, John Klingberg's outlet from just inside his own end forced Mattias Janmark to reach for the puck inside the Lightning's zone and he lifted his back skate. The linesman ruled that the play was offside. Because the pass originated from the Dallas d-zone, the ensuing faceoff took place there (instead of in the neutral zone). Anthony Cirelli won the faceoff and Mikhail Sergachev wristed the puck into the top of the net. Without the Stralman move in the d-zone, the Dallas penalty and then the close call on the offside, the Cirelli o-zone faceoff win and Sergachev's goal never happen.
In the end, the Lightning won this game because they made a couple of plays at key times and, despite struggling with puck management and spending a lot of time in the box in the final 30 minutes, defended well. And, of course, Vasilevskiy gave them another excellent performance, recording his third shutout of the season.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 35-save shutout.
2. Ryan McDonagh - Lightning. 23:26 TOI. 7:08 SH TOI.
3. Anton Stralman - Lightning. 24:57 TOI. 7:08 SH TOI.
