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Stanley Cup Finals 2019-20: Dallas Stars vs. Tampa Bay Lightning


TropicalFruitGirl26

The Next Stanley Cup Champion?  

14 members have voted

  1. 1. Who Wins It All?

    • Lightning Completely Dispatch Stars in 4
      0
    • Lightning Hiccup a Bit But Do It in 5
      2
    • Lightning Do The Expected in 6
      5
    • Lightning Take a Really Tough One in 7
      5
    • Dallas Makes Lightning see "stars" in a sweep 4
      0
    • Dallas In Eyebrow Raising 5
      0
    • Dallas Crown Themselves in 6
      1
    • Dallas Not to be Denied in 7
      2


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1601998780_STARSVLIGHTNINGFINALS.thumb.jpg.a7ab63b68083ab158923e013ce306ade.jpg

 

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Here they are.
The last two teams standing.
All your game day and post game talk can go right here as we watch and see who wants the big hardware more!

Bolts come in as "favorite", Stars come in, as some have put it, the "Cinderella" team.
Neither had an easy road to get here, and looks like neither will make it easy on the other.

 

Will have to wait a bit to see what the injury reports and status of certain players is (or if anyone has that info, please post), such as Stamkos, Point, Faksa, and Bishop.
Some good storylines here, especially if Ben Bishop can play....facing the team that truly gave him his NHL shot and ALMOST won a Cup with.
Benn and company finally getting big monkeys off their back and winning it all when it was being whispered that perhaps that core's window was closing.

For the Bolts, after years of having good teams, finally seeing redemption and winning a title, and facing four tough defensive squads along the way to do it....possibly even their former number one goalie.

Some very good blue lines on both sides, with Victor Hedman leading the way for TB, while young Miro Heiskanen leads the defense corps for Dallas.
But they are far from the only standouts on defense on either side.

Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, Ryan McDonagh for TB..... John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Jamie Oleksiak for Dallas... yea, I see all you guys too!

Goaltending will feature Andrei Vasilevkiy for the Bolts, of course, and for the Stars.....may be interesting.
Is Ben Bishop fit to play? But then, how can you sit the red hot Anton Khudobin, who, almost singlehandedly, was responsible for more than a few Dallas wins along the way?

And talent up front galore on both sides:
Benn, Gurianov, Seguin, Radulov, Hintz, Kucherov, Point, Palat, Killorn...just to name a few.

Hoping for a fantastic Stanley Cup finish!

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For me this comes down to is Brayden Point healthy enough to play?

Not just show up but actually play Brayden Point's game.If he is  the series is over in 5.   I feel he's that much of a difference maker. 

I don't think he is so this will go the distance. I think Tampa in 7.

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Dallas definitely looks like the faster, fresher team so far.

Score is tied 1-1, but just seems the Stars are dictating the pace and zones played.

Bolts should sort this out sooner or later, but if they don't shore up their own zone and make easier outlet passes, they may be down early in this series.

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I'm still going with Tampa in 6. Game 1s are weird sometimes. It's a feeling out process. Tampa wasn't hitting the net, and that had a lot to do with this outcome tonight. Tampa was dominant in the 3rd for sure, outshooting Dallas 22-2, but they have to score at some point there. For Dallas, obviously more shots on goal because they brought their physical, body checking game tonight. I think Tampa needs to do a better job of getting screens in front of Khudobin-Roy. He does this three more times, he's the Conn Smythe winner. However, I would still be stunned if he won it.

Edited by FD19372
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Stars definitely outplayed the Lightning in yesterday's game.
Fatigue for the Bolts could have played a part, but that wouldn't account for TB to come on strong in the 3rd period, though at that point, it seemed too little too late.

Dallas makes it a habit it seems, to get heavily outshot in the final period, and while it isn't the ideal way to play, their defensive structure along with Khu-Dini's red hot play make it work.

I am guessing the Bolts will need to treat Period 1 of Game 2 as if it WERE the 3rd period and throw everything they can at the Stars' net.
Maybe get the Stars out of their comfort zone a bit by making them play from behind on the scoreboard.

But overall, the Stars looked crisper and more focused in the opening game.
Sloppy passing and weak defensive zone coverage by the Lightning made it difficult for them to mount any kind of sustained attack through most of the game.

Will the "rest factor" now be evened out for Game 2?

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Copy-Paste of Stars' games 1 vs. Colorado and Vegas. Strong push and domination in the first 40 minutes, then the expected strong push by TB, the stupid penalties by Dallas and the Stars' skating back to Yellowknife, NWT. However, the Lightning were not that threatening in the final period, most of the shots came from far and it was for them to enter and take shots from closer spots.

 

Bold prediction for game 2, it will be waaaaay more different.

 

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Well, a quick résumé would be "It stinks"

 

Coach Bowness insisted on remaining disciplined and staying out of the box, Stars did the exact opposite.
Coach Bowness insisted on capitalizing on opportunities, Stars did the exact opposite.
Coach Bowness insisted on limiting individual error as much as possible, Stars did the exact opposite.
Coach Bowness insisted on not trailing by 2 or 3, Stars did the exact opposite.

 

Terrible brain cramp of Heiskanen and Lindell on Tampa's two first goals. When your goalie is just ok and you give Tampa's first three goals on a silver plate, that's the result. Then the Stars completely lost focus and it seems that the real Lightning showed up, turning the second period into a slaughter house. The high forecheck really hurt the Stars and even when they won most of the faceoffs, Tampa forced the Stars to a lot of turnovers. 

 

Getting 1-1 on the following back-to-back games as the best-case and realistic scenario, Tampa would still be leading 3-2 which send this thing back to the line 1 first statement.

 

On a positive note, Tampa always got a rout game in each of its previous series, going to score like 8-1. This time the Stars managed to keep it at 5-2. Not that bad... We also had terrible game 5 and 6 vs. Colorado with the obvious option of being punched in game 7. We know what happened. Games could be so different.

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I know injuries are part of the game but makes me wonder if injuries have caught up to the Stars vs Lightning.

 

Stars would be much better if they had Johns, Faksa, Bishop and Comeau. I guess it goes to say next game is a must win.

 

 

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2 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

I know injuries are part of the game but makes me wonder if injuries have caught up to the Stars vs Lightning.

 

Stars would be much better if they had Johns, Faksa, Bishop and Comeau. I guess it goes to say next game is a must win.

 

 

 

Agreed Dallas would be better with those guys in, but then, depth is just as much a part of a championship team as having big name players.

Honestly though (and I know the series isn't over), the BETTER team is winning....and doing it while dealing with injuries of their own (Stamkos and portions without Ryan McDonagh and Brayden Point as well).

Edited by TropicalFruitGirl26
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Dallas wins tonight, on a power play goal by Jamie Benn, late in the 3rd. I think they use that call on Benn in Game 4, as a bit of rallying cry or added motivation. I see the Dallas defense getting more active offensively, and Heiskanen, has a big 4 point night. Dallas wins 5-4 in regulation, to force a Game 6. Cooper accidentally dresses Coburn, in place of Shattenkirk.

Edited by FD19372
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Dallas won in 2 OT (3:2). Fantastic extremely tough finals! Still Tampa is dominating in offense, speed and puck control, like they having most of the time PP. I have a controversial feelings: wish the win for the team from our division, but realize the class/grade of Tampa team is higher and merit to be the winner. Veterans experience of the Dallas team against the superb masters offense of the Tampa team. It's a rare event to watch.

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Was extremely disappointed in the Tampa Bay loss yesterday.

I felt they had the game on their sticks on several occasions and Anton Khudobin wasn't exactly at his best....yet still, he played well enough to keep the Bolts off the scoreboard long enough for his team to tie in regulation, then win in OT.

And I am not taking anything away from the Stars.
They very much deserve to be in these Finals and are going to be a tough out for anyone, including Tampa Bay, but just felt the Lightning should have gotten this done last night, take their Cup, then rest up a bit before the new season starts in.....well, whenever the new season is supposed to start up.

Of course, they still have two more shots at eliminating Dallas, though the longer this goes, the more confidence the Stars will get and maybe, just maybe, some old ghosts start creeping back into the heads of the Lightning.

Not sure what more the Bolts could have done in Game 5.
I thought they played well, but Khudobin just rose to the occasion when absolutely needed, and Corey Perry of all people, has been coming up large for Dallas as well.

More pucks on nets for TB....and stay away from the stupid penalties.
Seems obvious, but that's about all they can do and see if in Game 6, Khudobin falters a bit more than he did in Game 5

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I cheered out loud when he scored at the exact midnight time CET. but as a long-life everlasting Perry hater, I immediately felt ashamed, like if, as a teen, my parents had caught me masturbating with an old Playboy magazine from 1989.

 

 

On 9/26/2020 at 1:25 PM, OccamsRazor said:

Stars would be much better if they had Johns, Faksa, Bishop and Comeau.

 

I usually dislike going there with injuries (I mean, TB is without Stamkos). But Faksa and Comeau out really hurt the Stars and its PK abilities. No wonder that Tampa's PP, while being astonishing from the basis, is so efficient. With this series going beyond aby logical considerations, I won't be surprised if the Lightning end up with a PP efficiency around 153.4%.

 

And Sekera is a game-time decision. Caamano is now due for a hat-trick. 

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