Pa Pavelski and Corey Perry don’t want to leave the bubble yet.
Pewalski, a 36-year-old Pte player, had minutes, seconds and 45 seconds left in regulation and then Perry went out to block a shot in the first overtime before winning the double OT, and the Dallas Stars avoided Saturday night elimination. Tampa beat the Bay Lightning 3-2 to push Game 6 into the Stanley Cup Final.
It was one of Perry’s two goals of the night, the 35-year-old drink, and prevented the victory – for at least one or two nights – from getting his second Stanley Cup title in the history of the Tampa Bay franchise.
“Get one, keep going,” Perry said. “We’re starting to build here and I think we’re starting to do something special.”
Anton Khudobin made 39 saves, and Perry extended the series to 9:23 in the second overtime. It was a redemption for the Stars the night after Tampa Bay lost in OT on a questionable penalty call when they scored on the next power play. Game 6 is Monday night in Edmonton, Almorta. Lightning is ahead of lead-2 in the series.
“With how they play, I don’t know if you can call them old,” Stars center Tyler Seguin said of Pewelski and Perry. “He thinks he has the best endurance of us all. If he keeps getting goals in the end and Perry has played a great game.”
Andrej Sekara shot Mikhail Sergachev in the right knee and the Stars did so despite going down five defenses for half regulation after all payments in the second period. Sekara returned in third place, an intestinal performance that might have saved a team that was smoking.
“It shows you its competition [level], “Stars coach Rick Bowness said of Sekara.” Give him a ton of credit to come back. It was tough. “
De Se Lass may have to sink even deeper into his already declining depth in Game 6 if Sekara’s injury is serious enough to add him to the long list of unavailable players. Forward Roop Hintz was the most recent to join the group when he was injured after falling off the board on Friday night.
With the first set of back-to-back games in the post-2009 finals and then the second after the mid-1950s, there is not much time to re-group the Stars after a difficult season. Instead of exhausting them, they were able to react big against a healthy opponent.
“They’re a good team,” said Lightning defender Victor Headman. “They fought back.”
Pavelski led the way again. In the second final of his career after losing to San Jose in 2016, he followed his two-goal performance in Game 4 with a season saver, scoring on a rare rebound allowed by Andrei Vasilevsky 24 hours later.
The goal paired Pavelski with Brampen Point of Tampa Bay with 13 for the most goals this postseason. It was the 61st of his playing career, the highest among American players.
Asked about setting that record on Friday night, Pewelsky deadpanned: “Keep it. Next question.” Thanks to his and fellow P te Perry’s second strong performance, there will be plenty more questions on Monday.
Some of them are associated with Tampa Bay, who took a 3-1 lead in the third-period and lost only the third time in one-goal games this postseason. How to keep the suddenly dangerous Dallas top line led by Perisky, with Perry, is one of them.
The second is the health of defender Ryan M. Kadonag, who slowed down after a big hit in the first overtime. At the same time Pavelski blocked a point-blank shot through the point to keep the game going.
Perry finished it by placing a rebound home for his second goal of the game.
Tampa Bay played again without injured captain Steven Stemcos. He has played only one postseason contest of the series, Game 3, in which he scored in the first period.
The Associated Press contributes to this report.
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