2019-2020 NHL Season

Don Wassall

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Tampa poured it on in the third period, outshooting Dallas by an amazing 22 to 2, and one of the Stars' two shots was an empty net goal. Dallas' Kazak goalie, Anton Khudobin, has been stellar all through the playoffs.
 
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Yes Tampa poured it on in the third and the result was 0-0 without the empty net goal. They got down 3-1 after the second by grinding it out.
Khudobin’s Father is ethnic Russian who was born in the kazak republic of the ussr.His Mother is ethnic Russian from Russia. Khudobin was born in kazak but is a Russian and plays for the Russian National Team.
It should be a great series. I was scared enough of Dallas to hedge my Tampa to win wager on the Stars.
 

Shadowlight

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Thanks to yuri and Don for keeping this thread alive. Due to the congested sports schedule I haven't watched enough of the playoffs. But two story lines of significance are emerging. Tampa Bay speed demon Brayden Point got banged up in the Islanders series and most think he hasn't been himself since? Will he get his form back? But another really interesting story line is that "Mr. Lightning" himself Steven Stamkos might return by game three or four. Talk about a psychological lift? I imagine they will play their hearts out to get Stamkos his first Stanley Cup.
 
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5-1 Tampa end of the second. Great flow moving forward for the Lightning and they score three times. Hopefully Stamkos will be able to play more this series. He missed the 2014 Olympics with an injury so I am pulling for Tampa now.
 

Shadowlight

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The Lightning did seem pumped to have Stamkos in the lineup and then we he scored in the first period they went bonkers. I think he tweaked something so his status will likely be a game to game thing.

All of their big boys scored last night including Kucherov who nailed a nice one on one opening goal. Brayden Point and probable series MVP ( if Tampa wins) big defenseman Victor Hedman joined in the fun.They put up a graphic comparing Hedman's playoff goal scoring tear to former defensive luminaries like Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey.

And I continue to be amazed by long time number one play by play man Mike Emrick. He is a true top of the pops prime time perfromer and at 74 he is still as sharp as a tack.
 
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Shadowlight

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Tampa Bay took what looks like a commanding 3-1 lead with a tight 5-4 OT win last night. They fell behind 2-0 but fought back. Victor Hedman continues to be a lynchpin. And 24 year old center Brayden Point is transforming into a superstar. With his lightning speed ( no pun intended) it looks like Point has regained his health. See below one of his goals from last night with his otherworldy athleticism on full display. He has been racking up the goals during the playoffs.

https://www.nhl.com/lightning/video/points-breakaway-tally/t-277443740/c-5418460

Oddly they play again tonight. Sure I understand they wanted to avoid Sunday night football on NBC but why not play game 5 Monday night? Instead they are playing back to back games which seems stupid to me. If Stamkos does play I imagine it will only be spot duty on power plays.
 
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Sergachev scores to put Tampa up but Dallas ties it late. 2-2. On to OT. Mikhail Sergachev has a fantastic shot and is a great long/transition passer. He needs to clean up his defensive work to become a star player.
 

Don Wassall

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Dallas hanging on for dear life. . . Tampa is such a disciplined, well-coached team, positionally very strong, reminds me of the Red Wings circa '08 and '09 in that they're hard as hell to gain puck possession from. Not to mention they have a nice array of talented players.
 

Don Wassall

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Stars win in double overtime, one night after they played into OT in Game 4. Just a superbly played contest by both teams.
 

Bucky

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Sounds like an excellent series. Interesting that both teams are from the South!
 

Shadowlight

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It is official. Captain Stamkos is out for the rest of the series. Too bad. Perhaps they should have pulled a "Weekend at Bernie's" deal where they roll him out for a couple of Power Play shifts just for inspiration?

Compelling series. Game six tonight at 8:00 on NBC.
 
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Tampa wins the 2019-2020 Stanley Cup with a 2-0 win.
Great series and playoffs. Fantastic adjustment by Tampa for game six keeping a forward in the transition zone and defence moving the game forward.
 

Don Wassall

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I was hoping Victor Hedman would win the Conn Smythe trophy and he did. Very deserving as is the entire Tampa team for winning the Cup while locked in a bubble away from family and friends for two months. What a grueling test, but they've been one of the very top teams in the league for a while now and winning the greatest trophy in sports helps cement their legacy.
 
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