For Stars, survival demands quick fix
Down 2-1 to Lightning, West champs in trouble
The Stars have to fix some things in a hurry, or this Stanley Cup Final could be over quickly.
After consecutive games with three-goal periods, the Lightning have all of the momentum and a 2-1 series lead. This most unusual Stanley Cup is now headed into the first back-to-back games in a final since 2009 and for only the second time since the mid-1950s.
“You just focus on the game. Wehave the luxury that we don’t have to travel and worry about any sort of issue there,” Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said Thursday. “It’s just a matter of worrying about tomorrow and not even looking forward to Game 5, because tomorrow is such an important game.”
The Lightning would be within one win of their second Cupchampionship with a win Friday night inside the NHLbubble in Edmonton, Alberta. The puck drop in Game 5 will come less than 24 hours after that.
With or without captain Steven Stamkos, who in Game 3 scored on his only shot since February, the Lightning have a chance to put a stranglehold on the series.
The Stars’ top line is without a goal in the series.
Captain Jamie Benn (eight shots in 76 shifts) and Tyler Seguin (seven shots in 82 shifts) haven’t even registered a point, while Alexander Radulov has three assists and five shots in 66 shifts.
The Stars came out hitting in the series opener, setting the tone in a win when they were rested. But they couldn’t keep that up when giving up three goals, two on power plays, in a five-minute span of the first period in a 3-2 loss in Game 2.
The Lightning then went ahead in Game 3 with two goals in an 85-second span before three goals in the second period of a 5-2 win.
“Right now, there’s one game on our mind, and that’s the next one,” Stars center Joe Pavelski said. “It’s a key moment in the series, 2-2 looks way better than 3-1. After that we can figure out how to recover and get back. ... We are in the finals and we’ll find energy however we need to. Right now, it’s get our game back, get it back for longer stretches.”
Stamkos got back in a game Wednesday night for the first time since Feb. 25, and surgery a month after that. Coach Jon Cooper said Thursday he didn’t know if the goal Stamkos scored would be his only shot this postseason.
While he skated only five shifts, and was on the ice for less than three minutes, his only shot this postseason had a big impact, putting the Lightning ahead 2-0 less than seven minutes into Game 3.