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The Wraparound: Will Stars bounce back in Game 4 vs. Lightning?

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Steven Stamkos scores in his first game in over 200 days and Victor Hedman nets a goal and two assists to power Tampa to a 5-2 victory in Game 3 and 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Wraparound is your daily look at the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. We’ll break down Friday’s Stanley Cup Final game with the all-important television and live streaming information included.

• Victor Hedman is the newest player atop the latest Conn Smythe Watch.

• The Penguins sent Patric Hornqvist to the Panthers for Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour.

FRIDAY’S STANLEY CUP FINAL GAME

Game 4: Stars vs. Lightning (TB leads 2-1) - 8 p.m. ET, NBC (livestream): Boosted by the long-awaited and “inspirational” return of Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning got goals from all three of their first-line forwards, their top defenseman and their captain in a three-goal win to move within two wins of the franchise’s second Stanley Cup. For the second straight game, Tampa jumped out to a multi-goal first-period lead before the Stars got on the board. The Dallas Stars cut the deficit to one entering the second period, but the middle frame was all Lightning, outscoring Dallas 3-0 in large part thanks to a 21-4 shot differential.

After Game 2, Kevin Shattenkirk said, “when we play our best game it’s hard for teams to win.” In Game 3, Tampa played one of its best games this postseason, getting major contributions from its usual suspects in the top line trio and Hedman and also a quantifiable (one goal from Stamkos) and unquantifiable lift from the return of its captain.

The top line of Palat, Point and Kucherov carried the day once again, combining for three goals and six points in Game 3, their second straight game with four-plus points. Point leads all players this postseason with 11 goals and with Palat and Hedman also reaching double-digit goals in Game 3, the trio make Tampa the first team in a decade to have three players with 10-plus goals in the same postseason.

Tampa can become the first team in the NHL expansion era (1967-present) to win the Stanley Cup the season after being swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

Tyler Seguin has struggled mightily in the 2020 playoffs. The 28-year-old has now gone 12 consecutive games without a goal and has just one assist over that span (which was six games ago). His last goal came in Game 3 of the Second Round vs. Colorado

Along with Seguin, some of Dallas’ other forwards have been quiet recently as well:

▪ Jamie Benn: Zero points this series after ending West Final on a three-game goal streak
▪ Denis Gurianov: Zero points, three shots this series (OT goal and assist in series-clincher vs. Vegas)
▪ Alex Radulov: Zero goals, three assists this series

“They’ve got to figure it out, it’s as simple as that,” said Stars head coach Rick Bowness. “They’re our top-end guys. You’ve got to give them the ice time to get going, they’re getting that. They’ve got to figure it out. They need some help from other guys, but they’ve got to figure it out.”

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Dallas Stars (TB leads 2-1)

Stars 4, Lightning 1 (recap)
Lightning 3, Stars 2 (recap)
Lightning 5, Stars 2 (recap)
Game 4: Friday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m. ET - NBC (livestream)
Game 5: Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m. ET - NBC (livestream)
*Game 6: Monday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m. ET - NBC
*Game 7: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m. ET - NBC

*if necessary

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