DALLAS _ This time, Ben Bishop's teammates came up with the save.
With Bishop struggling against his old team, Dallas rallied for two third period goals and forged a point in the standings in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was better than a loss, and it was a nice boost for Bishop, who gave up some soft goals.
Stars coach Ken Hitchcock shuffled his lines again and asked for more balance in his scoring. While Tyler Seguin scored twice and added an assist, Brett Ritchie and Mattias Janmark also scored goals and Jason Dickinson had the first assist of his NHL career.
"We are just going to have to have flexibility throughout our lineup," Hitchcock said. "That's just the way it is at this time of year. We are going to have to do the same thing. Jamie (Benn) has had a good look at center, we like what he's done there, and he can go back at any moment. Janmark is good at center, but if we have to flip there we'll flip. On those top six positions, they only thing you can say consistently right now is that (Radek) Faksa's line is going to stay the same. Everything else we'll change based on performance and based on the opponent."
Seguin was moved back to a line with Benn and Alexander Radulov, and had one of his best games of the season. He scored on a power play one-timer from Benn and on a four-on-four one-timer from John Klingberg. He also had the key play in tying the game.
Seguin drove the net and had his shot stopped by Tampa Bay goalie Louis Domingue with time running down. But Domingue went flat on his stomach and Janmark shot the rebound over him with 3.5 seconds left.
After several extensive reviews, the goal stood and the game went to overtime.
That was sweet relief for Bishop, who allowed soft goals to Steven Stamkos, Alex Killorn and rookie Anthony Cirelli. The former Lightning goalie was roasted in a 6-1 loss to his old team in November, so this was a tough one to take.
But Bishop stayed in, and clamped things down in the third period to get a point.
Tampa Bay won the game on a late rush by Cory Conacher. It was a bad luck goal for Bishop as he made the original save, but Conacher's stick hit the puck on a sliding follow-through and Tampa Bay won with 40.6 seconds left in overtime.
Dallas moves to 36-23-5 (77 points). The Lighting have the best record in the NHL at 44-17-4 (92 points).
Bishop said before the game his time with the Lightning helped his development. He helped them to the Stanley Cup Final and to another Eastern Conference finals.
"That was everything. It was where I became a starter, going to the finals, it was a great experience and I took a lot with me," Bishop said of his time with the Lightning. "You just were in every scenario. Being up 3-0, being down 2-3, playing a couple of Game 7's. You were able to put that in your bank and learn from it. I think I gained a great deal of maturity by becoming a No. 1 goalie who was counted on in the playoffs."
