As they’ve done throughout their winning streak—which they extended to four consecutive games—the Lightning defended well and limited scoring chances. And once again, they outplayed their opponent and were deserving of the victory.
This was a fast-paced game, played with relatively few stoppages. There were only 46 faceoffs (a number that includes three overtime draws). Executing at that high tempo, the Lightning dictated the action for much of the night. They outshot the Stars, 32-21, owned a 69-45 shot attempt advantage, and generated more scoring chances. But they couldn’t win the game in regulation, due in large part to the goaltending of Jake Oettinger. (Another common denominator during the win streak has been the stellar play of the opposing goaltender.)
Many of those scoring chances came in the first period. Oettinger made 11 saves and kept the Lightning off the board. At the other end of the ice, Andrei Vasilevskiy was less busy, but he stopped Dallas’ best look, an Alexander Petrovic shot from the slot.
The second period featured fewer scoring chances for the Lightning, but they continued to control play. They held the Stars to just four second-period shots on goal and only 11 total attempts. They also grabbed the lead when Brandon Hagel scored a power-play goal at 15:02. From the left circle, Hagel attempted to pass the puck to Dominic James at the far post. Miro Heiskanen blocked the pass, but the puck deflected off his stick and caromed (barely) across the goal line. Heiskanen made a terrific play to pull the puck out of the net, so it wasn’t immediately clear that the puck had completely crossed the line. Video review confirmed that it did. Hagel scored 35 goals last year, but improbably, none came on the power play. This was his first PPG since March of 2024.
Early in the third period, the Lightning nearly extended their lead, but both Pontus Holmberg and Nikita Kucherov took shots that hit the post. Moments later, the Stars tied it. Former Lightning forward Adam Erne deflected in a Petrovic shot at 2:03.
In a similar script to the Vegas game last Sunday, the Lightning had to kill two penalties during the second half of the third period to keep things tied. The penalties they took in this game overlapped, which gave the Stars an extended five-on-three. But the Lightning navigated through the kills, thanks to Vasilevskiy’s four saves during the two-man disadvantage and excellent work by Anthony Cirelli, Ryan McDonagh, and Victor Hedman (the three of them were on the ice for the entire five-on-three).
The game headed to overtime. As they did against the Golden Knights on Sunday, the Lightning forced a steal in the defensive zone and won the game on an odd-man counter. Hagel bothered Mikko Rantanen in the Lightning end, and Rantanen lost control of the puck. Cirelli grabbed it and took off. He outraced Wyatt Johnston down the ice and finished a backhander at 2:36. As Cirelli approached Oettinger, Rantanen dove in an attempt to knock the puck away and lost control of his stick. Cirelli prepared to make his winning shot with Rantanen’s stick caught up in his jersey.
The Lightning will look for their fifth straight win when they begin a three-game road trip on Sunday afternoon in Utah.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Anthony Cirelli — Lightning. GWG.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 20 saves.
- Jake Oettinger — Stars. 30 saves.
