Dallas Stars take Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final, and this team simply just has that look
The tired team played like they were whipped, but the other team may simply be one of those teams.
The Dallas Stars defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night in Edmonton. Game 2 is Monday night.
The last time the Stars won a Stanley Cup Finals game was Game 5 on June 8, 2000, against New Jersey in three overtimes.
The Stars had four days off, whereas the Lightning was coming off another overtime game in their Eastern Conference series two days ago.
Regardless, the Stars are on such a roll that even had the Lightning had the same amount of rest it may not matter.
The outcome on Saturday night technically is a surprise, but by now this is the norm.
Much like these Finals, the Stars were not supposed to win either of their previous two playoff series, but they continue to do so due in large part to production from guys who normally don’t produce much.
Stanley Cup winners typically do that.
The Stars took a 1-0 lead at the 5:40 mark of the first period on a goal by ... future Hall of Famer, defenseman Joel Hanley.
You don’t know Joel Hanley?
Joel Hanley has played in the NHL since 2015, and never appeared in more than 16 games in a regular season in that time with three different clubs.
He has zero goals in 46 career NHL games. Naturally, he now has one in the Stanley Cup Final.
“It’s something you dream about when you’re young. It’s just cool to be able to contribute like that,” Hanley said in a Zoom call with the media after the game.
The Lightning tied it seven minutes later in the first period on a trash, deflection goal from Yanni Gourde.
The Stars scored twice in the second period — one from defenseman Jamie Oleksiak.
“I had a lot of time so I was kinda moving in,” said Oleksiak, who lost a tooth in the game. “He got a piece of the first one, and I was able to get the rebound. It was a matter of sticking with it.”
The second goal in the period from the Stars came from forward Joel Kiviranta. This is the same Kiviranta who had one goal in 11 career NHL regular-season games. He now has five in these playoffs.
“I don’t know what’s going on. Whenever you shoot the puck, it goes in,” Kiviranta said.
His English is not great. His honesty is.
The first two periods the Stars owned. They were more physical, and created more quality traffic around the net. They should have had more than three goals.
“The 40 minutes is how we want to play,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said.
In that first 40 minutes, the Lightning’s top line, with Nikita Kucherov, was a non-factor. The former Hart Trophy winner had some shots, but was an invisible player.
In the third period, the Stars stayed back and were simply trying to end the game.
At one point, Tampa Bay out-shot the Stars in the third period, 20-2. Stars goalie Anton Khudobin stopped 35 of 36 shots, including a pair of standout stops in the final period.
Once again, Khudobin outplayed the higher graded goalie. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy faced 20 shots, and allowed three goals.
Vasilevskiy was pulled with 3:45 remaining in the game, and the Stars added an empty-netter from Jason Dickinson.
At this point, Khudobin’s production is no longer a surprise, and neither are the goals from players who previously don’t score.
This is how Stanley Cups are won, and the Stars have that look.
This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 9:24 PM.
