Tampa Takes Game 2 to Even Stanley Cup Finals, 3-2

Dallas didn’t come out ready to play in the first period. They weren’t skating. That’s a problem for a hockey team.

Within a nine minute span the Stars took three bad penalties, gave up two power play goals, and three goals in total as the Tampa Bay Lightning led 3-0 after one period of lopsided play.

To the Stars’ credit they came back from the first intermission and turned Game 2 into a barnburner which went down the last seconds of the final period.

The ice evened out and the play was fast and furious on both ends of the ice.

On the night the Lightning outshot the Stars by a slim 31-29 margin.

Tampa was 0-15 in the power play in its last three games heading into Game 2. The Lightning went 2-4 on the power and that probably was the difference in Game 2. Dallas cannot send Tampa on the power play as they did in this first period.

Dallas was 1-4 on the PP and had multiple high quality looks in both the second and third periods.

The glass half full take for Dallas is that they hope to build on the last two periods and stay out of the penalty box in Game 3.

Little things add up in a hockey game bewteen two evenly matched teams. Staying out of the box, winning face-offs, and and executing on specialty teams just to name three come to mind.

The Dallas Stars have to be that hockey team in the first period the next game.

Game 3 on Wednesday night from the NHL Bubble.

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