Lightning Bounce Back, Tie Series 1-1

The Tampa Bay Lightning came out firing on all cylinders – including the ones on the power play – to win game two and tie the Stanley Cup Finals at one game apiece with the Dallas Stars. For the eleventh time this postseason the Bolts scored first (10-1) and they held the lead after the first period for the eighth time (8-0).

It wasn’t easy, though. After going up 3-0 in the first period thanks to power play goals from Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat – both assisted by Nikita Kucherov – and a rocket from Kevin Shattenkirk, the Stars battled back. The Stars got one back in the second period and another in the third to make it a 3-2 game. Mikhail Sergachev thought he gave the Lightning some breathing room with a goal to make it 4-2 but the goal was taken away upon review for an offside penalty.

This game was extremely physical. Kucherov took not one, not two, but three shots to the head in the first period and left the game for a little while before returning and having assists on the first two goals. He was blindsided by Jamie Benn – who better get reviewed by the player safety committee, especially after Alex Killorn was suspended for a far less egregious hit – then took a high stick less than fifteen seconds later. On his next shift, he was hit into the boards where his head took the brunt of the impact and he would leave the game for a short period.

There were a few scrums, a few cheap shots, and a full on brawl between the two teams. In fact, Yanni Gourde was sent to the penalty box for standing up for teammate Blake Coleman who was slammed head first into the boards and had to leave the game for a little while, although he would also return.

This series has officially gotten chippy. It only took two games, but these two teams appear to have no love lost between the two sides and we should expect more physicality moving forward.

It wasn’t pretty, despite the great start, but they got the job done. What did I say in the preview? It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The Lightning finished with a tight, disciplined defense that didn’t allow Dallas enough possession in the offensive zone to pull Anton Khudobin for an extra attacker until there was a face-off with just over a minute to play. The Lightning played fast, played smart, and played the kind of hockey we’ve come to expect from them during the playoffs.

They remain undefeated following a loss in bubble play but need to string more than one win together as game three will be played on Wednesday before a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. The course of this series can shift dramatically based on those back-to-back games and if the Lightning are caught flat-footed in game three, it could cause serious problems in the series.

More on this game coming up tomorrow as we dive a little deeper into how things went in game two. For now, enjoy the win. We have a best of five starting in less than 48 hours.