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In stopping all 28 shots, Vasilevskiy extended
his shutout streak to 200-plus minutes. Because he also blanked
Dallas in Game 6 of last year's Stanley Cup Final to clinch the
title, then held the Stars scoreless Saturday and Tuesday, he
became the first Lightning goalie ever to shut out the same team
three times in a row (regular season and playoffs).
Vasilevskiy notched the 24th regular-season shutout of his
career. He earned the league's First Star of the Week on Monday
after holding the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas scoreless last
week in home wins.
Yanni Gourde scored into an empty net and Steven Stamkos, Victor
Hedman and Blake Coleman registered assists for the Lightning,
who won their fifth straight and hold a 10-game point streak
(7-0-3) against the Stars.
After being pulled in his last outing, Anton Khudobin returned
in goal and stopped 17 of 18 shots for the Stars, who opened
their six-game homestand by slipping to 1-6-3 in their past 10.
Defenseman Andrej Sekera was out of the Dallas lineup due to a
non-COVID-19-related illness. Joel Hanley drew in for Sekera and
made his seventh appearance of the season.
The second straight matchup between last season's Stanley Cup
finalists started exactly as it did Saturday in Florida -- with
Tampa Bay reasserting its prowess on special teams.
Palat, who netted the first marker Saturday on the man advantage
in a 5-0 Lightning win, was at again on the first power play
Tuesday. He ripped in his ninth goal from the right circle just
10 seconds into the power play at 7:29.
Dallas, which went 0-for-6 with an extra man Saturday, finished
0-for-3 on the power play Tuesday.
The teams loosened up a bit in a second period that featured a
breakneck pace with five-on-five play driving the action through
the neutral zone.
Vasilevskiy used the inside of his blocker to stop Jamie Benn's
wrister from the right circle -- that eventually clanked away
off the far post -- with just over 10 minutes remaining in the
frame.
Though neither team scored in the second, Dallas bettered its
play in front of Vasilevskiy and on the penalty kill, thwarting
both man advantages by the Lightning.
Tampa Bay killed two more Dallas power plays in the third while
the Stars killed off Nick Caamano's double-minor penalty for
high sticking. Gourde's empty-netter with five seconds left
clinched the win.
--Field Level Media
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