Kevin Shattenkirk scored the overtime winner to propel the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-4 victory. The Tampa Bay Lightning are now one win away from their first Stanley Cup since 2004.
Kevin Shattenkirk Wins the Game
In overtime, Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn got a penalty for throwing down Tyler Johnson with one arm. On the power-play, Shattenkirk shot the puck from the face-off circle to win the game for the Lightning.
Going into the third period the game was tied at three. Long-time NHL general manager, now Sportsnet analyst, Brian Burke said whoever won the game will likely win the Stanley Cup. His belief is the teams that win the close games in a series usually win it. With the opportunity for Tampa to go up 3-1, who wins the game has massive implications.
Alex Killorn and Joe Pavelski scored for both sides in the third period to send the game to overtime.
Dallas Stars Adjustments Work
Going into Game 4, the Stars top-line of Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and Jamie Benn only has three assists between them, and all of them belonged to Radulov. Seguin has only scored two goals in the playoffs. Stars head coach Rick Bowness changed the line putting Joe Pavelski with Benn and Radulov and Seguin with Corey Perry and Joel Kiviranta. The change worked.
With about 1:30 left in the first period with Dallas already up by one, the top-line went to work. Benn passed the puck to Pavelski who was skating alone into the slot. Pavelski shot the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s blocker to make the score 2-0.
With the score tied at two with eight minutes into the second period, it was time of Seguin’s line to shine. Seguin bust down the left-wing and worked his way across the net and put the puck right in the crease with no one around it. Perry followed up to put the puck into the open net.
Then Pavelski and Seguin combined for a massive goal to tie the game at four late in the third period. On the power play, Pavelski shot the puck and it bounced in the air, Seguin was in front battling for the puck, he never touched it (even though he thought he did). The puck went off Kevin Shattenkirk to tie the game. It puts Pavelski tied with Joe Mullen as the most playoff goals scored by an American.
Perry called that Dallas would score a goal in the third period. He said so in a second intermission interview with CBC.
Brayden Point Racking up Points
The top performer of the game is Tampa’s Brayden Point. After losing Game 1, one player in Tampa’s top-line of Point, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov have received a point six of Tampa’s eight goals during the past two games. Kucherov and Point are the top two scorers in the playoffs. Tonight was Point’s turn to continue the dominance.
A minute after Pavelski’s goal, Point out-skated his checker as he was entering the offensive zone. Palat passed the puck to Point who got himself on a breakaway. Point went to his backhand and put the puck past Dallas’s goalie Anton Khudobin.
Point scored again two minutes into the second period on the power play to tie the game at two. Alex Killorn had the puck behind the net and tried to pass it to the blue-line but the puck hit Stars defensemen Andrej Sekera‘s stick and went up into the air. Point, who is in front of the net, tracked it down and batted it out of the air for the goal.
Other Notes
In the second period, Roope Hintz had to leave the game for an apparent injury. He stepped on Tyler Johnson‘s stick in the neutral zone and slid awkwardly into the boards. He left the game. That would be a huge loss for Dallas as they are already missing forwards Radek Faksa and Blake Comeau.
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