Vasilevskiy extends win streak to 12 in Lightning victory against Stars

Andrei Vasilevskiy set a Tampa Bay Lightning record with his 12th straight win in a 2-1 victory against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tuesday.

Vasilevskiy made 16 saves and bested the previous mark of 11 consecutive victories set by Louis Domingue from Nov. 29, 2018 to Feb. 19, 2019. He leads the NHL this season in wins (21) and save percentage (.933).
Yanni Gourde scored the go-ahead goal in the second period for the Lightning (24-6-2), who have won five in a row and are the first team to have 50 points this season.
"I'm very proud of our team; it was an unbelievable effort," Vasilevskiy said. "[We] only [allowed] seven shots against through the first two periods, [which] was nice. It's never happened to me before. I just want to say thank you to my teammates."
Roope Hintz scored for the Stars (10-11-8), who were outshot 10-1 in the second period and are 2-2-3 in their past seven games. Anton Khudobin made 24 saves.
"The worst thing you can do against that team is, No. 1, turn the puck over anywhere through the neutral, and sit back," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. "I thought we were fine in the first, and in the third we played on our toes and went after them a little. If you sit back like we did in the second, you're just asking for trouble."

Vasilevskiy is 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).
"A few guys told me after the last game (a 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday) and before this game that tonight could be a record," Vasilevskiy said. "I just don't think about that. I just try to do my job, work hard, do my routine before the game so I can play my best game every night."
The Stars could not convert on a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:29 after Tampa Bay forward Blake Coleman hooked John Klingberg at 12:26 of the third period.
"When you have a 5-on-3, you've got to score," Bowness said. "We've got our best players on ice for a 5-on-3 for a minute and a half you've got to score. Simple as that."
Hintz gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 4:32 of the first period with a power-play goal when he got the puck in the slot and scored on a backhand.
Steven Stamkos tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 8:08 of the second period, a one-timer from the left face-off circle that hit the skate of Stars defenseman Andrej Sekera.

Gourde scored for the fourth straight game when he put the Lightning ahead 2-1 at 12:44 of the second on a follow up of his initial shot.
"I just tried to get it on net and was fortunate enough that the puck came back right in front of me," Gourde said. "My stick was free, so I tried to shoot it right away."
Tampa Bay was credited with 15 blocked shots without defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who has a lower-body injury.
"In the end, that's how you win hockey games," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It's not necessarily how many you put in the net, it's what you keep out. Aside from that one power-play going in early, we didn't give them much. Guys were committed to defending, and hence that's how you win 2-1 games."
The teams will play in Dallas again Thursday. The Stars are 0-3-1 in four games against the Lightning this season.
"To beat them, we know what to do; you just have to be willing to do it for the entire game," Dallas forward Andrew Cogliano said. "We have to do that Thursday night and if we do that, hopefully we'll get a win and build some momentum."
NOTES: Hintz fell awkwardly on his right leg early in the third and needed assistance to get from the bench to the locker room, but he was able to return. ... Lightning defenseman Andreas Borgman replaced McDonagh and had one blocked shot and one hit in 14:13 of ice time.