Stanley Cup Final: Lightning beat Stars in Game 2, even series

Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The Tampa Bay Lightning scored three goals in the first period and held on down the stretch to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and even the series.

Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Kevin Shattenkirk each lit the lamp in the first frame of the 3-2 win Monday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

"We really got back to what makes us successful as a team," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman told reporters. "I liked the way we responded after they scored their second goal. We really closed them out."

Joe Pavelski scored for the Stars 14:43 into the second period. Mattias Janmark cut the deficit to one goal with another Dallas score 5:27 into the third period.

The Lightning defense was dominant down the stretch to secure the victory. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy also had 27 saves in the win. Anton Khudobin had 28 saves for the Stars.

"You can't do what we did in the last half of the first period," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "It's pretty simple to explain."

Hedman and Nikita Kucherov each had two assists in the victory.

"We had a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final and we gave up two," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "This team never puts themselves in panic mode. Instead of trying to protect the lead, they went out there and tried to take it to them.

"We were completely engaged."

The Stars face the Lightning in Game 3 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final at 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday at Rogers Place. Game 4 is at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday in Edmonton.