Vasilevskiy winning streak ends at 12 in Lightning loss to Stars

Andrei Vasilevskiy had his 12-game winning streak end when the Dallas Stars defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday.

Roope Hintz broke a 3-3 tie with 1:21 remaining in the third period. Jason Robertson passed to Hintz, who split Lightning defensemen Victor Hedman and Jan Rutta before beating Vasilevskiy 1-on-1 to put the Stars ahead 4-3.
"I know [Hintz] is flying up the middle of the ice whether that's in the first minute of the game or the last minute of the game," Robertson said. "I kind of trust him to make that little skilled play to get that puck. I know his speed will just burn defensemen and I'm glad he finished it because it was a big goal and a big win."
Vasilevskiy was the ninth goalie in NHL history to win 12 consecutive games. The record is 14, set by Tiny Thompson (Boston Bruins, 1929-30), Tom Barrasso (Pittsburgh Penguins, 1992-93), Jonas Hiller (Anaheim Ducks, 2013-14) and Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets, 2016-17).
He had not lost a game since Feb. 20, 4-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
"We put ourselves in a position to get a point, it didn't happen," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We've just got to be a little bit mentally sharper, but with a bunch of games [in the condensed schedule], it's bound to happen once. Hopefully that's the last time it happens."
Hintz and Joe Pavelski each had a goal and two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 24 saves for the Stars (11-11-8), who split the two-game set and defeated the Lightning for the first time this season (1-3-1). Tampa Bay won 2-1 on Tuesday.
"They battled hard to get that third goal, and it was great to see us come back and respond," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. "Sixty-minute game. We needed that big one and Roope came through."
Yanni Gourde scored for the fifth straight game, and Vasilevskiy made 37 saves for the Lightning (24-7-2), who had won five straight.
Tampa Bay played a man down with 11 forwards and six defensemen after injuries to defensemen Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh and the trade of forward Alexander Volkov to the Anaheim Ducks.
"It really doesn't change anything for us on [defense]," Lightning defenseman Cal Foote said. "We still have our six guys. It shouldn't be an excuse for a team. It's unfortunate, but we have to play a guy down sometimes this year. We just have to play hard and be ready to go."

Gourde gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 2:46 of the second period when he scored on the rebound of a shot by Foote.
Alex Killorn made it 2-0 at 5:58 on the rebound of a shot by Mikhail Sergachev.
Miro Heiskanen cut it to 2-1 at 10:54 with a backhand on a breakaway.
"We needed one, and Miro gave it to us," Bowness said. "Just a dominant performance from Miro tonight. When he can skate and control the game, it's fun to watch. We needed to break the ice on [Vasilevskiy], and Miro was able to do that."

Pavelski tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal from the slot at 18:40.
Robertson gave the Stars a 3-2 lead at 19:44 with a one-timer from the right hash marks off a pass from Pavelski.
"[Robertson] has found his game, he's found some confidence," Pavelski said. "We found some moments where we got some turnovers and made some plays. It was a good win. We needed to get those guys."
Ondrej Palat tied it 3-3 of 15:10 of the third period when he put in a loose puck during a scramble in front.
"This definitely wasn't our best, we know we've got way better," Palat said. "We just have to learn from our mistakes, regroup and get ready for Carolina [on Saturday]."
NOTES:Heiskanen's goal was the first at 5-on-5 for the Stars against the Lightning since Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sept. 26. ... The Lightning had a 12-game regular-season point streak against the Stars end (9-0-3; Dallas: 3-7-2). … Tampa Bay was trying to win six straight games for the third time this season (Jan. 30-Feb. 9, Feb. 24-March 4). … The Lightning had scored one power-play goal in five straight games and at least one in 10 of 11 but did not have an opportunity Thursday. The Stars were 1-for-3 on the power play. … Foote played an NHL career-high 23:52. … Hintz has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in the past eight games. … Dallas forward Jason Dickinson played his 200th NHL game. … Stars defenseman Mark Pysyk had two shots on goal in 12:58 after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.