EDMONTON — The Dallas Stars didn’t hang around the bubble for nine weeks just so they could lose four straight and go home empty-handed.
The team that has leaned so heavily on 34-year-old goalie Anton Khudobin got two goals from 35-year-old Corey Perry — including the double-overtime winner — and one from 36-year-old Joe Pavelski to force overtime.
In typical fashion, Perry was standing at the top of the Tampa crease when he collected a loose puck and stuffed it home from about three feet out 11:23, giving Dallas a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning and a chance to play Game 6 Monday night in Edmonton.
How did Dallas do it, outshot 41-33 on the back end of back to back games?
“Our depth,” said Perry, who had nine shots on net and was dangerous all night. “We have a team that never gives up. We’ll keep battling to the end.”
Pavelski tied the game just after the conclusion of a powerplay, shoveling in a rebound with 6:45 remaining in Dallas’ season, not to mention the most unique playoff tournament in the history of the National Hockey League.
Now, we are guaranteed at least 60 more minutes of this COVID Cup, with the Stars and Lightning set to meet in Game 6 Monday in Edmonton.
You have to tip your Stetson to the Stars, a team that looked gutted by a Game 4 overtime loss just 24 hours before. They promised to regroup and come back with a vengeance, but meanwhile the hockey world trotted out statistics like the one about the past 27 teams who won Game 4 to go up 3-1 all winning the Cup.
But like the old cliché goes, you can’t win three games all in one night. All Dallas could do was win the first one, and when Perry’s shot snuck in behind Andrei Vasilevskiy in the Tampa goal, you had to give some credit to a beaten up, injured underdog that just won’t say goodbye.
Third-line centre Roope Hintz wasn’t in the lineup, having been injured in Game 4, adding to the list of injured regulars that includes Radek Faksa, Blake Comeau, Stephen Johns and No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop. As usual, little Anton Khudobin gave his team what it required in goal, stopping 28 shots in regulation.
Tampa got goals from Ondrej Palat and Mikhail Sergachev.
Dallas’ last six goals were scored by Perry and Pavelski.
