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Dallas Stars Stanley Cup News: Seguin, Perry, Pavelski & More

The Dallas Stars were hanging on, but then Corey Perry stashed one in during the second overtime period. Who else played well for the Stars?

The Dallas Stars had their backs against the wall playing a great Tampa Bay Lightning team. Fortunately, they tied the game late in the third period and moved Game 5 to overtime.

Related: Game 5 – 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final: All Eyes on Stars’ Tyler Seguin

During the first-overtime period, the Stars had no energy at all – barely getting a shot on net. However, hockey is one of those games where anything can happen – and it did. During the second overtime period, Corey Perry scored. As a result, the Stars had beaten the Lightning 3-2, and there will be a Game 6 on Monday.

In this post, I’m going to share some of the Stars Stanley Cup news as a way to help Dallas fans stay more up to date on what’s happening with their team.

Item One: Tyler Seguin Is Breaking Out of His Slump Just in Time

Tyler Seguin scored assists on all three Stars’ goals during the 3-2 double-overtime win over the Lightning in Saturday’s Game 5. Until Friday’s Game 4, however, he had been mostly missing in action, but had broken out of his slump with two assists in Game 4. Prior to Friday, Seguin had only scored a single assist in 12 games.

Tyler Seguin Dallas Stars
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars

However, although Seguin is relied on to put the puck in the net, it might not be important if he doesn’t score himself if he can keep setting up his teammates. His three assists on Saturday and his two on Friday now give him 11 for the postseason. For those who follow, however, Seguin hasn’t scored himself during his last 15 games. Currently, the veteran center has only two goals in 25 postseason games.

Seguin’s first assist was on Corey Perry’s goal during the first period and his second assist was on Joe Pavelski’s game-tying goal in the third period. However, he saved the best until last and picked up a secondary assist on Perry’s game-winning goal. It was Perry’s second goal of the game during the second overtime period.

Seguin became only the second Stars forward – in both Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars history – to score at least three assists during a Stanley Cup Final game. The first player was Brad Maxwell, who scored four assists for the North Stars during the 1981 Stanley Cup Final).

Item Two: Corey Perry Scored Two Goals During the Victory

Perry scored two goals during the 3-2, double-overtime victory over the Lightning in Game 5. He started the ball rolling (wrong metaphor, I know) late during the first period. However, the Stars just couldn’t seem to hold a lead and fell behind again. Joe Pavelski scored late to force overtime.

Zdeno Chara, Corey Perry, Mike Smith
Corey Perry, Dallas Stars

Then, after an almost disastrous first overtime period where the Stars could generate nothing – including enthusiasm, Perry scored his second goal when he smacked in a scrambly one from in front of the net almost halfway through the second overtime period frame.

Similar to his teammate Seguin, Perry himself had experienced a 19-game postseason goal drought; however, the first-year Stars’ winger now has scored three goals during his last two games. That moves him to five goals and four assists during the 26 games he’s played during the postseason.

Item Three: Joe Pavelski Extends His Record for Playoff Goals for an American Player

Joe Pavelski extended his four-game point-scoring streak with a game-tying goal midway through the third period of the Stars victory. That goal forced overtime. Pavelski’s been gold for the Stars during the Stanley Cup Final and has scored four goals and an assist – with a plus-5 rating.

Interestingly, the 36-year-old Pavelski also scored the 61st playoff goal of his career, which is the most playoff goals for any American-born player in NHL history. Congratulations.

Item Four: Anton Khudobin Saves the Day to Help the Stars Stay Alive

Anton Khudobin was stunningly good – especially when it counted the most. He made 39 saves on 41 shots during the Stars 3-2 double-overtime win in Game 5. He was especially good during the first overtime period, when the Lightning was ready to strike constantly.

Anton Khudobin Dallas Stars
Anton Khudobin, Dallas Stars

Khudobin had been great early in the Stanley Cup Final but had recently allowed five goals during the previous two games. In Game 5, he stood as tall as he could. So far, during the first five games of the Stanley Cup Finals, he’s given up 16 goals on 172 shots. That’s a .907 save percentage.

There’s no way he’ll be replaced as the Stars head into Game 6 on Monday. If the Stars are to move to Game 7, Khudobin will have a glove in that move forward,

Item Five: Jamie Oleksiak Adds an Assist in Saturday’s Victory

Not only did Jamie Oleksiak play physically throughout Game 5, he also added an assist, had seven hits, and added three blocked shots. By the way, he also had a plus-2 rating in the double-overtime win. His assist came on Perry’s first-period goal, which gave Oleksiak nine points in 26 postseason games.

Item Six: John Klingberg Hits the Score Sheet Again in the Stanley Cup Final

John Klingberg scored an assist and blocked four shots in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Lightning. His assist came when he threw a shot on net, that caused a rebound, that went to Perry, who scrambled it into the net for the game-winning goal.

The 28-year-old Klingberg has had a great Stanley Cup Finals; and, after a regular season where he tallied only six goals and 32 points in 57 regular season games, he’s really woken up during the postseason. He now has totaled a goal and four assists in five games and four goals and 17 assists for 21 points in 25 games overall during the postseason.

Related: Stars Stanley Cup News: Khudobin & Kiviranta – Who Saw Them Coming?

Item Seven: Miro Heiskanen Has Reached the 20-Assist Postseason Milestone

Miro Heiskanen scored an assist on Pavelski’s game-tying, third-period goal. Although a single assist might not seem like that much, it’s just one more point in an amazing point-a-game average the young Finnish defenseman has had during the Stanley Cup Final. So far, in 26 postseason games, he’s scored six goals and 20 assists.

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