Sunday, 4 a.m.
Did you think it was going to be a moonlight skate?
Did you think it was going to be Huns against the villagers, and anyone standing in the way was simply delaying your parade?
Well, it won't be that easy for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Dallas Stars staved off elimination in the Stanley Cup Finals Saturday night, winning a 3-2, double-overtime game to force a game six (Monday night, 8 p.m.). Corey Perry scored his second goal with 9:23 left in the second overtime period.
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The loss left the Bolts with a 7-2 record in overtimes this post-season.
The Bolts had their chances. They led 2-1 midway through the third period on a goal by Mikhail Sergachev, but Dallas tied it on a goal by Joe Pavelski with 6:45 to play.
The Bolts outshot Dallas 7-1 in the first overtime period, but could not score on Anton Khudobin, who had 39 saves.
“We played well enough to win that game," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. "It was a team that had its back against the wall and a team trying to close out the series. It was good. We had our chances.
"There were just a couple of lost battles down low that cost us on a couple of goals. We keep doing that, I’ll take our chances. I thought we played well enough to win the game but I’m sure they’re saying the same thing. That’s what happens in double overtime games."
The Lightning quickly pledged to come back strong Monday night.
“it’s obviously not the outcome you want, but at the same time, we knew it was going to be a hard series," said defenseman Victor Hedman. "We had some good looks in overtime and throughout the game, but it wasn’t our night. At the end of the day, we look forward to the next game.”
The Lightning has not lost two games in a row in the playoffs.
"We felt this feeling before," Cooper said. "We felt the sting and then rebounded. The big thing is to get some rest here. In the end, if that game went any longer I don’t know if any goals would have been scored. Both teams were pretty tired."
Cooper expects his team to respond.
"We’re in the Cup Finals," he said. "I don’t think you see sweeps that often or even five games. You write your ticket for six or seven games when you get to this point. We missed an opportunity. We’ve afforded ourselves to have another chance.
"It’s pretty hard to win every game in this league. Good on them for not laying over. Good on us for playing good enough to win. Now we have to circle the wagons and come back in 48 hours.
Monday night's game begins at 8 p.m.