Stars seek 'different level' in Game 4 of Cup Final

Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn each has no points for the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final.

Alexander Radulov at least has three assists, but his two hooking penalties in Game 3 -- the first resulted in a power-play goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning -- were detrimental to Dallas' attempt at a comeback.
"We're getting them the ice time and getting them out there as much as we can, they've got to figure it out," Stars coach Rick Bowness said following the 5-2 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday. "They are our top-end guys. You have to give them the ice time to get going, and we are giving them that. They got to figure it out and they need some help."
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If they can't figure it out, it's hardly a stretch to say the realistic chances of Dallas rallying against Tampa Bay after losing the past two games will be slim.
The Stars trail the best-of-7 series heading into Game 4 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub city for the Cup Final, on Friday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"There's another level for us, bottom line," said Stars forward Joe Pavelski, who has a goal and an assist in the series. "It's got to come from someone. We've got to step up and be better."
What's worse for the Stars is that the Lightning have come back after losing 4-1 in Game 1 with their top players leading the way.
Their goals in Game 3 came from forwards Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat, as well as one from defenseman Victor Hedman. In Game 2, it was Point, Palat and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, with Kucherov and Hedman each getting two assists.
"If you're going to win, your best players have to be your best players," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "That's the bottom line. You can get contributions from everybody in different ways, but if you're going to go the distance, the big boys have to be there for you."

That's the dilemma the Stars are facing now, especially when you toss Pavelski and defensemen Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg into the mix with Benn, Seguin and Radulov.
Heiskanen had four giveaways in Game 3, including one that directly led to Kucherov's breakaway goal to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 5:33 of the first period. Klingberg was a minus-3 in that game, on the ice for the goals from Stamkos, Point and Palat.
"If we can really narrow that focus and get our commitment higher, we can definitely claw back into a good position in this series," Pavelski said. "It'll take a big effort, guys stepping up, and it'll start tomorrow."
Bowness doesn't care who it comes from. He even tried to take some of the heat off Benn, Seguin and Radulov when he addressed their lack of production on Thursday.
Instead of doubling down on his "figure it out" comments after Game 3, Bowness talked about Dallas' by-committee approach, pointing out the production the Stars have gotten in the postseason from role players like forwards Joel Kiviranta (five goals), Jason Dickinson (two goals in Cup Final) and Denis Gurianov (nine goals), and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (five goals).
"We're here because of a committee, because of team play," Bowness said. "It hasn't been focused on one line or one guy. … Do we need more from the top guys? Every team does. So we're hoping that's coming, but until it does and if it does, than we're going to keep battling and we're going to stay in games and give ourselves a good chance to win based on team play and everyone contributing at different times. That's why we're here."
But the Lightning in the past two games have done a good job defensively, especially in the neutral zone, to limit Benn, Seguin and Radulov, who have combined for 15 shots on goal, and the other lines haven't done enough to make up for it before the Stars have fallen behind.
They were down 3-0 in the first period of Game 2, a 3-2 loss, before Pavelski's power-play goal in the second period and Mattias Janmark's goal in the third period. The Lightning led 2-0 in the first 6:58 of Game 3 before scoring three times in the second period to open a 5-1 lead.
It didn't help in Game 3 that Dallas was 0-for-4 with five shots on the power play, or in Game 2, when they allowed the Lightning to go 2-for-4 with the man-advantage.
"Right now, it's get our game back, get it back for longer stretches," Pavelski said. "At times we've chased the game this series. So get back to some just better details on our part. There's a different level to this Stars team for sure."