Lightning Start New Win Streak in Dallas

Dan Herrejon
Jan 18
3 min read

Today's matinee game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars has the makings of an epic battle. The second best team in the league visiting the home of the third best team in the league.

In a game like this, getting lead is a premium. Both of these teams are tough to play. They are even tougher to play when they have a lead. Once the puck was dropped, both teams seemed intent on scoring the game's first goal.

Fans watching this game better have their head on a swivel. Like a table tennis game, the play went from one end of the rink to the other in a breakneck speed. As the Lightning were working the puck out of their end, Nick Paul misplayed the puck. Dallas took advantage of that unforced error and scored the game's first goal.

From the turnover, Nils Lundkvist blasted a shot that Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 99% of but that 1% trickled past him in the blue paint. Oskar Bäck of the Stars jumped on that loose puck and swiped it into the net.

Four minutes after the Stars got the game's first goal, Dominick James and Jake Guentzel played a nice little game of give and go and James snapped the puck past Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger's short side to tie the game at one.

Makings of a Barn Burner

Whenever top quality teams face each other, to know it'll be a good match. In the course of the regular season, a matchup like this is a measuring stick. How good you are when facing top competition. No question, this game had this quality. Through the first half of the second period, neither team scored. Both defenses were not giving an inch on the ice.

Just after the 11 minute mark of the period, the Lightning broke the tie. Nikita Kucherov was is the slot and Oettinger came out high to cut the angle. Kucherov deftly passed the puck to Brandon Hagel who was behind the Dallas netminder. Hagel smacked the puck in the net to give the Lightning a 2 - 1 lead.

Being down one goal wasn't going to be a knockout punch against Dallas. Sure enough, the Stars were battling hard to get back in this game. Even a power play couldn't help their cause as the Lightning penalty kill stood tall.

Pehaps it was that penalty kill that buoyed the Lightning players but as the period was coming to an end, the Guentzel/James give and go made an encore appearance. Almost a carbon copy of the play that led to the Lightning's first goal happened. Guentzel took a pass from James as James streaked towards the Dallas net. Guentzel passed it back to James but the pass was a bit off and James could only softly tip the puck towards Oettinger who easily saved the tip in shot.

What Oettinger didn't do was control the rebound which Guentzel pounced on and lofted a back hand shot past Oettinger to give the Lightning a 3 - 1 lead. That is how the second period ended.

Third Period is for Closers

The Dallas Stars didn't become the third best team in the league by being milquetoast. The Lightning had to prepare for the home team's best shot. As the final regulation period came to the halfway point, the Stars shot seemed to misfire. At the midway point of the period, Dallas only mustered two shots on goal and the bulk of the play was controlled by the Lightning.

Like the first two periods, the third period seemed to fly by. With eight minutes left in the game, Dallas still has only two shots on goal in the period. Six minutes and still only two shots. Four minutes to go and still Dallas only has registered two shots in this period.

One could say, Dallas' offense is anemic but that isn't the case. Give the Lightning's team defense credit for nullifying any offensive attempt by the Stars. When there was 3:58 left in the game, Dallas pulled their goalie.

After plling their goalie, the Lightning actually had more shots on goal than the Stars. When Pontus Holmberg potted an empty net goal, the Lightning win was secured.