TAMPA, Fla. — With their playoff hopes on the line, the Dallas Stars made sure to capitalize on every opportunity Friday night at Amalie Arena.
It was the first time in this season’s eight-game series that the Stars faced backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney (26 saves). Dallas had gone 1-6 against Andrei Vasilevskiy, so, apparently, a change in the opposing goal was all it needed.
The Stars (22-18-14, 56 points) stayed in the postseason race with a 5-2 win. With the Lightning losing in regulation, the Hurricanes clinched first place in the Central Division — their first division title in 15 years — and locked in a first-round series between Florida and Tampa Bay, which is likely to kick off May 15.
Dallas defenseman Jamie Oleksiak opened the scoring in the first period, sneaking a rebound past McElhinney following a shot by defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
Center Joe Pavelski added to the Stars’ lead early in the second period, getting free for a breakaway coming out of the penalty box and scoring on a backhand shot.
About five minutes later, the Lightning (36-15-3, 75 points) finally got on the board with a goal from forward Blake Coleman.
Defenseman Victor Hedman sent the puck ahead to Coleman, who leaned into the opportunity to put his team on the board, sending the puck past Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin (26 saves).
But the momentum didn’t last long, as Pavelski notched his second goal of the night after the Lightning lost possession along the boards and wing Roope Hintz found Pavelski in front of the crease to extend the lead to 3-1.
With 15 seconds remaining in the period, Hintz scored on a breakaway for a 4-1 lead.
The Dallas scoring spree didn’t stop there. Winger Joel Kiviranta pounced on a loose puck in the crease and sent it past a sprawling McElhinney 3:49 into the third period, essentially putting the game out of reach.
About halfway through the period, Lightning rookie forward Alex Barre-Boulet cut the Stars’ lead to 5-2 on the power play. He one-timed the puck from the left side of the net with some help from Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat, who helped recover the puck from along the boards.
Friday was the first half of a back-to-back for Tampa Bay. The Lightning will finish the regular season on the road against Florida in a pair of games Saturday and Monday.
