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Imagine waiting all offseason just to get smashed even worse in the “revenge game”.
DAL-0
TB-5
Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside all 20 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout victory. He didn’t face a ton of chances, but the ones he did face he disposed of confidently and easily. He’s in one of those zones right now. Enjoy the ride.
First Period
13:18 TB Palat (8), (unassisted)(PP)
Second Period
4:06 TB Cirelli (5), (Stamkos, Rutta)(SH)
8:17 TB Point (7), (Johnson, Sergachev)
15:12 TB Maroon (2), (Johnson, Sergachev)(PP)
Third Period
1:07 TB Stamkos (10), (Cirelli)
Vasilevskiy, Anthony Cirelli, and Steven Stamkos were the game’s three stars.
How demoralizing must it be to be a Dallas Stars player at this hour? They came out in this “revenge game” on fire in the first five minutes or so breathing fire for their Stanley Cup Final loss. But they failed to translate a spate of Lightning turnovers and an early Lightning penalty into any real Grade A scoring chances, and once Tampa Bay’s PK dealt with that first penalty the momentum of the game began to turn. From there on out, the Lightning slowly squeezed the will to live out of Dallas. Clinically. Almost joylessly. Wow.
Welcome back Anthony Cirelli. I don’t mind that line shuffling giving him Stamkos as a winger one bit, either.
Cal Foote was +1 with 1 hit and 2 blocked shots in 12:28.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
