'We believe': Against all odds, Stars extend series in double-OT thriller

The Stars were missing five key players with injuries.
They were playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a disappointing overtime loss on Friday.
They were looking at a game that could end their season.
And yet, they found a way to survive.

Dallas on Saturday beat Tampa Bay, 3-2, in the second overtime of Game 5 on Corey Perry's second goal of the game and third in two nights. That means they are not going home from the Edmonton bubble and have earned the right to play Game 6 on Monday.

It was an impressive accomplishment.
"We believe," said Stars center Tyler Seguin. "Yesterday and tonight, we had so much fun. It's such a great time to be playing hockey and these games have been so good."
Dallas started slow in the bubble, and was seen as underdogs against Colorado and Vegas. They won both series. They are seen as underdogs against Tampa Bay, and injuries to Radek Faksa, Blake Comeau, Roope Hintz, Ben Bishop and Stephen Johns don't help. So when the Stars lost in OT in Game 4 to go down 3-1 in the series, few held out much hope.
But the players and coaches saw that as simply another hill to climb, another challenge to overcome.
"We believe in that dressing room," said veteran Corey Perry. "We came here with 51 people, and all of those guys in that dressing room believe we can go there and get this done. That's all that really matters."

Perry is one of the great stories of these playoffs. He's 35 years old, he was bought out by the Ducks after the 2018-19 season, he signed an incentive-laden one-year deal with the Stars. He has three goals in the past two games, including the overtime winner on Saturday.
Joe Pavelski is one of the great stories of these playoffs. He's 36. He was let go by the Sharks and signed a three-year deal with the Stars. He also has three goals in the past two games, and has been a driving force in coming up with opportunistic plays.
Anton Khudobin is one of the great stories of these playoffs. He's 34, has been a backup goalie most of his career and had not started a playoff game before this season. After Saturday's win, he has stopped more shots in a single playoff season (717) than any goalie in franchise history.
And Seguin might be epitome of the fighting spirit on the team. He has been in a horrible scoring slump throughout the playoffs, and still has not scored a goal in the past 13 games. However, he had three assists on Saturday and has five in the past two games as he continues to play hard, win faceoffs, and drive to get to the net.
Seguin helped set up Perry's first goal with a slick little pass in transition. He fed Miro Heiskanen for a one-timer that led to Pavelski's goal. And then he went hard to the net to help out on Perry's overtime winner.

It was a microcosm of the resiliency the team has shown in the bubble.
"I think we enjoy being called underdogs and every person, really this whole time we've been in the bubble, seeming to choose the other team we're playing," Seguin said. "We relish that. We don't want to leave the bubble, so we're having fun."
And that is the funny part of all of this. While fans are dying at home because of the stress, the players and coaches seem to be soaking it all up. It doesn't matter if great players are hurt. It doesn't matter if you are asking players to do things they have never done before. It doesn't matter if every shift is do or die. The Stars are letting the energy flow through them.
"You're urgent, because it's must-win, and you've worked so hard to get to the Stanley Cup Final and you're here, and you want to do everything you can to win the game," said defenseman John Klingberg, who played a team-high 38:16, had an assist, five hits and four blocked shots. "But it's just a lot of heart and lot of belief in this team."
The game went through several surges, including the first overtime, where the Stars were outshot 7-2 and looked timid at times. Seguin said that's when some of the veteran players like Perry and Pavelski stepped up and told the team to go out and seize the game.

"That first overtime, we had a couple moments, played a little bit not to win at times, I guess, or just safe," Pavelski said. "We went out there obviously to win, but were a little safe at times, but talk was we need to go at them a little bit."
Bowness said it was even more intense than that.
"None of us were happy with that first overtime," Bowness said. "You can't play not to lose, you just can't. Play to win, and if you lose, you lose. But we're going to go for it, and we did."
It's what they have done throughout the playoffs, it's how they have surprised opponents, it's why they are not going home yet. There will be a Game 6 Monday, and if the Stars have anything to do about it, there will be a Game 7 on Wednesday.
"We talked about it all day, we get one we keep going. We start building here, and I think we're starting to do something special," Pavelski said. "We hang in there, we really do. We've been through a lot together. We're in a hole, this gets us a step closer, but we've got a ways to go. We've got better hockey still."

Game 6: Stars vs. Lightning (Tampa Bay leads 3-2)

Monday, 7 p.m. CT
Where:Rogers Place, Edmonton
TV:NBC, Ch. 5
Radio:The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.