After seven months sitting on the shelf, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos returned for the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday – albeit very briefly – and scored on his first shot fillet
Stamkos, out of February 25 to recover from abdominal muscle surgery and lower body injury, went 2-0 in under seven minutes as the Lightning beat the Stars for Dallas 5-2 in Game 3 at Rogers Place
READ MORE: Hextall on hockey: Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos stays on the sidelines during Cup race
Game 4 is scheduled for Friday and Game 5 just 24 hours after Saturday night
« It was just an amazing experience to share with my teammates… just to be able to take part in a game and have an impact on a game that a month ago might never have been possible », said Stamkos, of Markham, Ont
« I was just very happy to obviously contribute to a game I haven’t played too much in »
Stamkos, the two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner at 30 as the league’s goalscoring leader, played on the fourth row with Cedric Paquette and Pat Maroon
He received a cross pass from defenseman Victor Hedman and, with a blast of speed, slipped through a small gap between the boards and Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell, stole and shot a wrist from the straight face-off circle The opposite side of the top of the standings of Stars goalkeeper Anton Khudobin
Stamkos played 2:47 in the first half, stayed in the dressing room until late in the second and didn’t leave the bench for the rest of the game, staying to cheer on his teammates
The NHL is not releasing injury information and Stamkos declined to say what made him stay off the ice for the rest of the game
« I wanted to play as much as I could. Obviously there is an issue I’m working on We’ll see what happens from here, » he says
Hedman scored with two assists Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay
Kucherov also got an assist and continues to lead all playoff scorers with seven goals and 30 points
After Stamkos scored, the Tampa bench erupted into cheers that rang throughout empty Rogers Place Playoff games are played without spectators to avoid spreading the conronavirus
« You can see the reaction on the ice and on our bench when he scored that goal. That’s all that matters to us as a teammate, as a leader and as a super happy friend. for him «
Jason Dickinson and Miro Heiskanen answered for Dallas Khudobin refused 24 of 29 shots and was replaced by Jake Oettinger for the start of the third period when the score was 5-1 Khudobin went 13-8 in the post-season 2020
Dallas defenseman John Klingberg, when asked about the comeback Stamkos gave the Tampa bench, said: « It’s the Stanley Cup final We all play with emotion
« We got on our heels a bit in the second half. We’re just going to pick up that momentum in the next game, go hard and even the series »
Kucherov opened the scoring when Heiskanen lost the puck on his own blue line Kucherov jumped on it and fired a low missile blocker on a breakaway
Dallas joined the board before the end of the period Roope Hintz stole the puck from Tampa’s volley and handed it to Dickinson for a close-range stopwatch from the top of the left face-off circle
Tampa took control for good in the second period, edging Dallas 21-4 and adding three more goals
READ MORE: NHL Stanley Cup Final between Tampa Bay and Dallas is a duel of former associate coaches
Hedman scored on the power play, shooting from the slot machine into traffic Kucherov then fed a Point streak on a 3 on 1 for Point’s 11th goal in the playoffs Palat then fell back into the puck during a jamming in the mouth of the goal
In the third period, Dallas went 5-2 as the puck rebounded from a scrimmage on goal Heiskanen got some credit
Stamkos is in his 12th season with the Lightning He produced 29 goals and 66 points in the regular season, which was interrupted on March 12 due to the spread of COVID-19
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Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, Stanley Cup Finals, National Hockey League, Steven Stamkos
World News – AU – Steven Stamkos returns, Lightning defeated the Stars 5-2 in the third game of the Stanley Cup Final
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
