Game 1 was less than a stellar effort from the Tampa Bay Lightning. For the third game in a row, the Bolts’ offense has been suspect.
On Saturday night, an “excuse me, I didn’t mean to that” goal credited to Yanni Gourde was the only marker for Tampa Bay.
“We have to do a lot more than what we just did in the third,” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. “I don’t even know if you need to take a shower after the first two periods. … We just didn’t have our legs, and clearly it showed. We’re going to have to make it a little tougher on their goalie if we’re going to score.”
The Lightning have given up the first goal in six straight games going back to the Eastern Conference Final.
“It’s always tough playing from behind, especially against teams like Dallas who’s very good defensively,” Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson said. “The first goal is huge. It’s not the end of the world, but at the same time it’s way easier to play with a lead than trying to obtain it.”
Tampa Bay had the looks, but most were of the crest on Anton Khudobin sweater.
Khudobin made 35 saves on the night with 22 of them in the third period.
“He made some huge saves at the right moments,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “You know you’re on your heels a little bit, and with their elite-level offensive skills, you know they’re going to get some chances. You don’t want to give them a goal at the wrong time and you need a big save at the right time. Anton certainly did that for us tonight.”
Khudobin is sporting a record of 13-6 and a .923 save percentage; his goals-against average is 2.54.
“When he’s on, which he was tonight, he’s reading the play, so he’s getting there and anticipating the shot,” Bowness said. “He’s not late. He’s not chasing the game around. He’s focused on where it’s coming from and he’s meeting the puck.”
Joel Hanley the Final’s first goal, and his first career goal, to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.
“We wanted to go out and enjoy the moment, have fun,” Dallas’ Blake Comeau said. “We didn’t want to play uptight, and I thought we did a good job, especially in the first two periods, of sticking with what we had to do to be successful.”
[WATCH:Â All Stars vs. Lightning highlights]
Despite the 22 shots on goal in the third, Dallas’ defense did not buckle.
“Don’t discredit the way we played in the third; we did push, and they defended,” Cooper said. “I don’t anticipate periods are going to go like that the rest of the way through. You play differently when you have the lead, bottom line. Their goal, I’m sure, was not to statistically have it go that way, but their goal is to win the game and that’s what they did.”
Game 2 is set for Monday night, in Edmonton.
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