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Three Takeaways: Stars Weather the Storm, Defeat Lightning

taylor newby
·4 min read

With the 4-2 win Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Dallas Stars secured an undefeated record in the Sunshine State for the current season.

Now, technically, that win in Tampa is the only game in Florida this year due to their away game against the Florida Panthers coming in Tampere, Finland, but the Stars will take it nonetheless. After going 0-2 on their two game Florida swing last season, Dallas will be happy to get two points out of a tough game in a tough building to win in.

The Lightning, who are fifth in their division, have been trying to find their identity this season after what seems to be an end to their reign over the NHL that included back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and another appearance in the Final the year after. Tampa was a first round exit last season, and decided to move on from former captain Steven Stamkos, one of the pillars that made their team so good for so long. Stamkos signed with the Nashville Predators in the off-season, and the Bolts signed Jake Guentzel to a big seven-year deal to pair with remaining stalwarts Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Although it isn't the dominant team from years past, this was one of the Stars best looking wins of the season, with contributions from both the offense and the defense at key moments.

The Lightning struck first Saturday night when Anthony Cirelli cleaned up a rebound in front of Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger. Cirelli is tied with Brandon Hagel for second place in points on the team, only behind Kucherov. The Stars answered back about two minutes later with a clapper from Ilya Lyubushkin that hit Evgenii Dadonov at the side of the net on its way in. Then, for the second time in the first period, Cirelli found the back of the net, putting Tampa back ahead 2-1.

So far into the season, the Stars haven't shown much resiliency in terms of answering back when going down early, but that was not the case this time. Just before the end of the first period, Matt Duchene hit Miro Heiskanen with a saucy elevated backhand pass, and Heiskanen picked the far corner above a surprised Vasilevskiy, tying up the game 2-2 going into the first intermission.

In the second frame, both teams were trying to move the needle while not trying to give up a handful of goals, and both teams made it out unscathed. Tampa had just lost 7-6 to Columbus and were not wanting to repeat that scoreline. The feeling going into the third period seemed like the next team to score would probably win.

In the third period, the Stars would be the team to strike next on a fast-developing 3-on-2, where Matt Duchene passed it to Tyler Seguin in the slot, who fought off a defender and slid it right back to Duchene who fired it home from a tight angle. Then, about a minute later, the Stars went on the power-play thanks to a Guentzel hooking call, and Roope Hintz showed his speed and created a mini-breakaway from the offensive blue line in, and elevated the puck over Vasilevskiy's pads and made it 4-2. The two goals were lightning quick, only 58 seconds apart, and that would prove to be too much for Tampa to overcome.

Three takeaways from the game:

  • So far, Lyubushkin has proven to be one of the best free agency pick-ups for the Stars in years. At first, fans were apprehensive of the signing, but he has been one of the most consistent defenders for the Stars. His stay-at-home nature and commitment to playing his role well has paired well with Thomas Harley and has allowed Harley to have the freedom to play to his strong suits. Harley leads the team with a +15 rating thanks to some of that defensive strength provided from Lyubushkin. The Russian is currently on pace for 25 points, which would shatter his career high of 14 points. Lyubushkin even showed off his goalie skills after Oettinger got pulled out of the net in a scramble.

  • Hintz's game is starting to heat up after re-introduction of Wyatt Johnston to the top line. The trio struggled when put together earlier in the season but now all three are starting to contribute after a slow start. Hintz has three points in the two games, including two goals and an assist.

  • Oettinger moves to second in wins in the NHL with 11, only behind Connor Hellebuyck, who has 14. Oettinger has a 2.23 goals-against average on the season, good for fifth in the league, and a save percentage of .918%. He stopped 27 of 29 shots on goal against the Lightning.

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