The Lightning returned to action for the first half of a back to back on the road in Dallas Saturday night. After enjoying five days off there were questions of whether they could recapture the momentum they were starting to build before heading into the break. Unfortunately the Bolts gave up a 2 goal lead in the first period and the Stars went on to win 4-3 in overtime.
Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin made their return to the lineup for tonight’s game and Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start in net. Tampa Bay got off to a strong start in the first period. Victor Hedman got them on the board first at 3:07 as he picked up a rebound in front of the net and put it past Kari Lehtonen.
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Jake Dotchin continues to do impressive work as the young defenseman’s shot got through from the point to set up Hedman’s goal. He also saw time on the power play when the Stars were short handed as the result of a high-sticking call. Tyler Johnson scored a beautiful goal with the man advantage at 11:59 to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead.
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Antoine Roussel scored his first goal of the evening at 12:50 while camped out near the blue paint in front of Tampa’s goal. Anton Stralman had the body but Roussel was able to use his stick to swat the puck out of mid-air and into the net. The Stars continued their onslaught and Roussel struck again at 18:50. The score was tied at 2-2 after the first 20 minutes.
Despite registering two goals in the first period the Lightning struggled to get shots through. Luckily the power play and Victor Hedman came through again at 9:50. It was the first time Tampa has scored multiple power play goals since their January 12th game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Fast and furious play continued in the third period with both teams getting good chances. Antoine Roussel completed his first hat trick of the year at 4:40. Despite starting slowly the Lightning ended the game with 33 SOG in regulation. The game ended with the teams tied at 3 apiece.
The brisk pace continued in earnest in the 3-on-3 overtime. The Stars completed their comeback as Jamie Benn had plenty of time to put an accurate shot past Vasilevskiy. By making it to overtime the Lightning have earned at least a point in five consecutive games.
[protected-iframe id=”a5ef2e7dcf668b873bc937278f3b927b-114320562-46289989″ info=”https://www.nhl.com/video/embed/recap-tbl-3-dal-4-fot/t-277753022/c-49552403?autostart=false” width=”540″ height=”360″]Tampa Bay will travel to Colorado to take on the Avalanche tomorrow at 8:00 PM.
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