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Inspired by the return of captain Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning pounced on the Dallas Stars in the first period of Game 3 en route to a 5-2 victory. Stamkos, who hadn’t played since February 25th because of injuries, skated just 2:47, but he scored a goal on his first shot of the playoffs, and the Lightning never looked back.
The Lightning didn't explain publicly why Stamkos played just five shifts in Game 3 and his status for Game 4 is unclear. Tampa Bay’s top line of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Ondrej Palat are clicking at the right time, and defenseman Victor Hedman is turning heads with his play at both ends of the ice. Andre Vasilevskiy made 22 saves in Game 3, but wasn’t taxed very much after the first period. The Lightning held Dallas to just eight shots on goal over the final 40 minutes.
The Stars have been resilient throughout the playoffs and must tap into that trait having lost two-straight games for the first time since their first-round playoff series against the Calgary Flames. Head coach Rick Bowness pulled goalie Anton Khudobin after two periods on Wednesday to rest him for Game 4 and Game 5, which will be played Friday and Saturday, respectively. He’s allowed eight goals over the past five periods and has an .867 save percentage during that span. Forwards Alexander Radulov and Denis Gurianov left Game 3 due to injuries suffered during the third period. It’s not clear if either of them will play in Game 4.
The Lightning (-165) are favored to win Game 4. The Stars, who have seven comeback wins on their 2020 playoff resume, are +140 for Friday’s game. Like the first three games, the over/under for goals has been set at 5.0 goals for Game 4. The teams combined to score five, five, and seven goals across the first three games, respectively.