The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars in a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory in Game 4 on Friday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
The teams traded goals all night but the Lightning ultimately prevailed in overtime when Kevin Shattenkirk scored the game-winner.
Shattenkirk's marker came on the power play after Stars forward Jamie Benn took a tripping penalty. It was the Lightning's third goal of the game with the man-advantage.
The Stars got off to a hot start, scoring the game's first two goals thanks to John Klingberg and Joe Pavelski. The Lightning answered just before the buzzer in the opening frame when Brayden Point burst into the offensive zone and put one past Anton Khudobin.
Point was able to bat the puck out of the air to score again just minutes into the second period to tie it up.
An incredible solo effort by Tyler Seguin led to a goal from Corey Perry, who managed to jam the puck into a wide-open net to put the Stars back on top. But, similarly to the first period, the Lightning netted a power-play marker at the end of the second to tie the game back up.
Alex Killorn got on the board for the Lightning to take the lead minutes into the final frame, but Pavelski scored his second minutes later to tie things up once again.
With the goal, Pavelski became the oldest player in NHL history to score 12 goals in a single postseason and also tied Joe Mullen for the most playoff goals scored by an American skater (60).
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy ended the night with 26 saves on 30 shots, while Khudobin stopped 30 of the 35 he faced.
John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen became on Friday the second pair of defensemen on the same team to record at least 20 points each during a single postseason, according to TSN's Statscentre.
The Dallas Stars teammates joined Paul Coffey and Charlie Huddy as those to accomplish the feat. Coffey and Huddy did it with the Edmonton Oilers during the 1985 playoffs when they recorded 37 and 20 points, respectively.
Klingberg's goal in the opening frame of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final helped him reach the 20-point mark, while Heiskanen already had 24 points entering the contest. They've each appeared in 25 games this postseason, including Dallas' three contests in the round robin of the qualifying round.
The pair are leading the way for the Stars this postseason, with Heiskanen sitting at No. 1 and Klingberg second in team scoring.
The Winnipeg Jets are entertaining the possibility of trading star forward Patrik Laine, TSN's Darren Dreger reported during Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"Absolutely they're serious. ... The Winnipeg Jets know what their needs are," Dreger said. "They need a No. 2 center and they need to bolster the top four on their blue line. Kevin Cheveldayoff, the general manager there, can't solely rely on free agency."
"One way or another, Kevin Cheveldayoff is listening on Patrik Laine," Dreger added.
The Jets selected the winger with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Since his debut as a rookie during the 2016-17 season, he ranks seventh in the league in goals with 138.
Laine inked a two-year bridge deal last season that carries an average annual value of $6.5 million. He'll be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign.
During the 2019-20 regular season, Laine recorded 28 goals and a career-high 35 assists in 68 games.
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos couldn't make it past the first period Wednesday in his return to the team's lineup during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Stamkos finished the game with just five shifts and 2:47 minutes of ice time after suffering an apparent setback in the opening frame.
The 30-year-old hasn't played since Feb. 25. He underwent core muscle surgery in early March and sustained a lower-body injury during Phase 2 of the NHL's return-to-play protocol in July.
Stamkos scored a goal before leaving Wednesday's action. He initially didn't come out to start the second period but later joined his teammates on the bench for the remainder of the game.
After winning two of the NHL's most prestigious personal awards on Monday, Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl still has his eyes on hoisting the Stanley Cup.
"No, this doesn't make up for it," Draisaitl said of Edmonton's early exit from the postseason, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "It's a nice personal award for myself, but there's nothing that comes ahead of the Stanley Cup. If I could hand those two awards back in for a Stanley Cup I would do it in a heartbeat, and so would everyone else.
"It's a nice day, I am proud and happy for sure. But my goal in my career is to win the Stanley Cup."
Draisaitl took home both the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player as voted on by his peers.
The 24-year-old was the most dominant offensive player throughout the 2019-20 season, recording 43 goals and 67 assists in 71 games. He was the only player in the league who eclipsed the 100-point mark.
Edmonton entered the postseason as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and fell to the 12th-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the qualifying round. The Oilers have now failed to make the Round of 16 during the past three seasons.
Toronto expects to make an official announcement later on Thursday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Malhotra has been with the Vancouver Canucks organization since 2016 when the team hired him as a development coach. They promoted him to assistant coach in 2017.
The Leafs have openings on their coaching staff after losing Paul McFarland to a head coaching gig with the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs and letting go of Andrew Brewer.
The Mississauga, Ontario native has played 991 NHL games and totaled 116 goals and 179 assists. The veteran was well known during his career for his two-way abilities and his proficiency in face-offs.
This year's World Junior Championship will take place in the Edmonton hub, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.
The tournament was originally set to take place in both Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, beginning Dec. 26. It remains unclear if it will begin as scheduled.
Alberta will also host the 2022 tournament, Dreger adds.
The Edmonton bubble was utilized throughout the summer to host NHL teams during the postseason. The hub housed players and staff in three hotels within walking distance of Rogers Place.
Since arriving at the hub in late July, the NHL hasn't recorded a positive COVID-19 test despite playing multiple games daily at the arena.
It appears the Arizona Coyotes' general manager search may soon be coming to an end.
St. Louis Blues assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Bill Armstrong is the leading candidate for the job, depending on contract negotiations, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
The Coyotes have reportedly interviewed several candidates over the summer - including Pierre McGuire, Sean Burke, and Jason Karmanos - since their previous GM, John Chayka, terminated his contract in July.
Armstrong has been with the Blues organization since 2004, earning the assistant GM title in 2018. The 50-year-old previously spent nine seasons playing in the AHL and IHL and has four years of coaching experience in the AHL and ECHL.
After a season full of ups and downs, the Dallas Stars have now found themselves in the Stanley Cup Final. Despite finishing fourth in the Western Conference, many seemed to underestimate the Stars every step of the way since the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Dallas needed many things to go right to get where it is, so let's take a look at how the club turned a season that started 1-7-1 into a potential championship-winning year.
Roller coaster regular season
Glenn James / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars' season started almost as poorly as possible. They managed just one win in their opening nine games and were outscored 30-17. After the team suffered its eighth loss in nine matchups, goaltender Anton Khudobin put it as bluntly as possible: "What else can you say? We just got another L, f-----g, I don't know," he said, according to Dallas News' Matthew DeFranks. "We just have to keep going and do something."
Dallas picked things up and came back to earth after the tumultuous start. The Stars were chugging along nicely, but then things got shaken up when head coach Jim Montgomery was fired in December due to unprofessional conduct. Assistant coach Rick Bowness stepped in to take over bench duties.
Under Bowness, the Stars went 20-13-5 - including losing six straight before the season paused on March 12. During Bowness' tenure, Dallas ranked 25th in the league with 69.37 expected goals for at five-on-five and 17th with a 49.34 Corsi For %.
Despite not having a fast-paced, high-octane team like some of the other Cup favorites, the Stars still managed to play their way to one of the NHL's best records.
No scoring? No problem
Joe Puetz / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars finished the 2019-20 regular season with the third-lowest goals scored in the NHL (178). On the flip side, they allowed the second-lowest goals against (174). While their offense wasn't necessarily clicking at their usual rate, their superb defensive play and goaltending were able to offset that issue.
Rookie Denis Gurianov led the team with 20 goals during the season, followed by Jamie Benn and Roope Hintz with 19 apiece. Tyler Seguin was at the top for points with 50 but managed just 17 goals - his lowest since 2012. With $32.6 million tied up between Alexander Radulov, Joe Pavelski, Seguin, and Benn, the Stars surely hoped to get more than 65 goals combined between the four.
With such little offensive firepower, Dallas needed to step up big time in its defensive play. Khudobin and Ben Bishop combined to create one of the best goaltending tandems. Khudobin even finished the season with the league's best save percentage among qualified goaltenders. The team in front of them undoubtedly helped out, allowing the fifth-lowest high-danger scoring chances against (404).
Taking down a couple of Cup favorites
Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars didn't look impressive during the 2020 postseason's round-robin. They dropped two out of three games and were outscored 10-5. Dallas looked ready for another early exit from the playoffs after losing two of the first three contests against the Calgary Flames in Round 1. With the team's back against the wall, they flipped a switch and turned on the jets.
The Stars went on to win three straight against the Flames, outscoring them 14-8 in the process. Their second-round matchup was against the Colorado Avalanche, who many touted as a heavy Cup favorite. Dallas went up 3-1 in the series but didn't end up securing the win until Game 7's overtime. The Stars ended up getting outscored 29-28 in the series. They're now the first team since 1968 to enter the Stanley Cup Final with a negative goal differential in the playoffs, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Dallas faced another tough task in the third round, going up against the mighty Vegas Golden Knights. Despite being outplayed for the majority of the series, the Stars surprisingly took down the Golden Knights in five games. They were outshot in four out of five contests and 166-118 overall, but Khudobin stood tall and helped the Stars advance to their first Cup Final since 2000 thanks to his incredible .950 save percentage in the series.
Dallas' special teams showed up against Vegas, clicking at 23.1% on the power play and 86.4% on the penalty kill. These are both up from their regular-season average and were a big part of why the Stars were able to dispose of Vegas so quickly.
The 34-year-old Khudobin has played some of the best hockey of his career with Bishop out for most of the postseason. Khudobin has played in 19 games in these playoffs, compiling a 12-6-0 record alongside a .920 save percentage. The netminder has been extremely busy at all strengths as he leads the league this postseason in expected goals against (50.33) and high-danger save percentage (.871).
Veteran additions paying off
Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty
The Stars made a few minor additions to their lineup for this season, and they've paid off big time. During the offseason, they brought in two veterans with lots of playoff experience in Pavelski and Corey Perry, both playing pivotal roles during the playoffs. They also added blue-liner Andrej Sekera, who has filled in nicely on the team's third defensive pairing.
General manager Jim Nill showed a huge vow of confidence in Pavelski by signing the then-35-year-old to a three-year, $21 million deal. Pavelski is tied for the team-lead with nine goals in the playoffs, and he's been one of the club's best players. Perry has contributed just six points, but he's been great in a bottom-six role.
The 27-year-old set a career high in points after tallying two goals and 26 assists during the 2019-20 season. He led the Wild in blocked shots (112) while averaging 21:33 minutes of ice time per game.
Brodin has been with the Wild since being selected 10th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft. He's racked up 30 goals, 116 assists, and 890 blocked shots in 555 career games.
Brodin's extension will begin in 2021-22 and run through 2027-28. The Wild will now have $27.1 million tied up to their current top four defensemen - Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, and Brodin - as of 2021.
