Andrei Vasilevskiy’s record-setting win Tuesday night in Dallas came with challenges, even with a wide discrepancy in the shot margin between the Lightning and Stars.
Over the course of his win streak, the Lightning have prevailed in different ways, but many times Vasilevskiy saved his teammates when they left him isolated with odd rushes and turnovers. But in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory, the Lightning turned in one of their finest defensive efforts of the season, even while short-handed.
After limiting the Stars to just one shot in the second period, the Lightning overcame Dallas’ inevitable third-period charge, including a critical 5-on-3 penalty kill. They were without top defenseman Ryan McDonagh, and saw defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak hobble off the ice after taking pucks to the body.
Vasilevskiy, who hasn’t lost a game in more than a month, set a franchise record with his 12th straight win, surpassing Louis Domingue’s 11 from the 2018-19 season. He is the ninth goalie in NHL history with such a streak and is two shy of the league record for consecutive wins.
Yanni Gourde’s fourth goal in four games, which proved to be the game winner, came when he charged a loose puck into the offensive zone, shielding Dallas center Radek Faksa as he corralled the puck, shooting a wrister that hit off Stars defenseman John Klingberg’s right hand and down to the ice. That gave Gourde an easy putback on goaltender Anton Khudobin.
Steven Stamkos scored his team-high 16th goal of the season — and his team-best ninth on the power play — 8:08 into the second period, rifling a one-timer off a faceoff from the left circle. Stamkos’ shot deflected off Dallas defenseman Andrej Sekera’s stick blade and fooled Khudobin, who allowed the puck to slide through the five hole.
Unlike the Stars, the Lightning have avoided season-altering injuries. They have overcome the regular-season loss of Nikita Kucherov (offseason hip surgery), and otherwise have stayed mostly healthy. The Stars entered Tuesday with 11 regulars missing 141 combined games total.
But Tuesday, the Lightning were without McDonagh, one of the team’s biggest minute eaters, shot blockers and penalty kill pieces, to a lower body injury he sustained early in the Lightning’s win over Florida on Sunday.
Without McDonagh, the Lightning’s depth was tested. Tampa Bay had to lean on a defensive pairing of rookie Cal Foote and Andreas Borgman, who entered with just 25 games of experience wearing Lightning sweaters.
To make matters worse, Sergachev retreated to the locker room in the first minute of the second period after he was hit in the face by an errant pass behind the net by Vasilevskiy. That forced the Lightning to briefly play with just five defensemen in as he received several stitches to his upper lip.
The Lightning fell behind 1-0 without McDonagh on the penalty kill when Roope Hintz sneaked behind Foote, took a pass below the left circle and beat Vasilevskiy with a nifty back-handed shot 4:32 into the first period.
Stamkos had a good look on the Lightning’s first power play of the game, but his wrister from the left circle targeting the top shelf went off Khudobin’s stick handle and away.
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