Dallas Stars player John Kleinberg (3) celebrates his goal with his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates Alex Kilorn (17) skating during the first period of Match 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, Friday, September 25, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson / The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton, Alberta (AFP) – Yanni Gorde scored 1:06 from left in the second half to score Tampa Bay Lightning even with the Dallas Stars in 3 after two periods of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night.
This was the second goal in the late half, which would likely shift momentum by Lightning after Brayden Point who scored 32.6 seconds in the first. Point also scored a goal in Power-play early in a second.
Tampa Bay dominated for long periods but trailed at some point 3-2 as Dallas scored three times on seven shots against Andrei Vasilievsky, Vizina Trophy goalkeeper. After John Klingberg and Joe Pavelski scored in the first half, Tyler Seguin did an amazing job preparing Corey Perry for the stars’ third goal towards midway second.
Lightning’s defeat might have been another had it not been for Anton Khudobin’s play, who made some pretty impressive saves and blocked 20 shots in the first and second half. Tampa Bay got the edge of Dallas shots 23-17.
With Dallas trailing in the series 2–1, coach Rick Bowness switched streaks and top two defensive pairs and made some strong turns early on, even if he didn’t show up in the number of shots. Klingberg then continued to work his magic in the playoff match.
The Swedish defender collected the disc from his own blue streak, skated with it into the attack area himself and had a good bounce. Klingberg’s shot hit the right skate of Lightning defender Jan Rota and Viktor Headman’s legs before he regained the ball and slammed it past goalkeeper Andrei Vasilievsky, who was perhaps surprised.
Pavlski scored the stars’ third and final goal in the period 1:32 minutes ago. Captain Jimmy Bean continued his tough game this post-season, feeding a puck from Rota to Pavlsky in a 2 on 1 dash.
The goal was Pavilski’s No. 59 in his playoff career, and he was the target behind Joe Mullen for US-born players.
Dallas’ two goals each came in the first half with Headman on the ice with equal strength, a rarity for a Cun Smith contender as the player’s best in the supplement.
Headman was there to congratulate Point after cutting Tampa Bay’s deficit in half 59 seconds after Pavlsky scored. Linemate Ondrej Palat blasted from the split point with a perfect pass, Lightning’s upper center finished off with a backhand kick to defeat Khudobin.
Point continued his impressive play-offs by scoring his thirteenth goal to level 2:08 after the end of the first half. Seguin, whose goal was interrupted in 12 matches, helped put the stars ahead by getting a small pinch into Vasilevskiy’s crease, and Perry struck the net to put her ahead.
Taking the lead in period three might be a big boost for Dallas, which follows the series. Stars 9-1 that’s postseason when it tops after two.
Dallas was again without veteran striker Blake Cuomo, who appeared to have injured his right shoulder in the second match. Lightning didn’t have captain Stephen Stamkus, who exacerbated the injury after scoring in Match 3 two nights earlier.
After this is over, these teams won’t have much time to think about the outcome. The fifth game is Saturday Night in the first consecutive Cup Final since 2009 and only the second in the era of the NHL expansion that began in 1967.
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