Will the Stars or the Lightning take the lead in the Stanley Cup Final?

Wednesday night, the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning face each other for the third time in the Stanley Cup Final series. Both teams have won one game so far. Will the Bolts keep the momentum in Game 3, or will the Stars regain the lead in the series again?

Dallas Stars: want to recapture the momentum

For the first time in 20 years, the Dallas Stars headed to the Stanley Cup Final last week and has won one championship, in the 1998-1999 season Dallas defeated the Buffalo Sabres in six games. In this years' play-offs, the Stars turned out to be the big surprise. In the first round Dallas was too strong for the Calgary Flames and then the hockey team defeated the Colorado Avalanche as a big underdog.

In the Conference Finals, the Stars' signature game, leaning on their strong defense, was the key to success in eliminating the Vegas Golden Knights. Dallas had a little more rest before the Stanley Cup Final series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and took full advantage of this in Game 1, which they won 4-1. On Monday, the Bolts tied the series by quickly gaining a 3-0 lead in the second game. In the end Tampa Bay managed to hold on to the lead and won this important game with 3-2.

Tampa Bay Lightning: tied the series

The Tampa Bay Lightning were one of the big favorites to win the Stanley Cup prior to this season. The hockey team consists of a balanced group of players, who are technically skilled. They are praised for their offensive qualities, but Tampa Bay excels during the postseason especially as a defensive juggernaut. Tampa Bay is allowing only 2.21 goals per game this postseason and has been successful in tight, low scoring contests.

Head coach Jon Cooper knew that the first game in the Stanley Cup final against the Dallas Stars could be very difficult. The Stars had a few days more rest and they played the Lightning physically from the start of that first game. The Bolts took a 1-4 loss, but managed to even the series in Game 2 with a 3-2 win. Tampa Bay finally got their mojo back on the power play, especially because of this the hockey team ran out to a comfortable lead. Dallas then managed to get back in the game, but came up just too short, 2-3.

Dallas Stars incl. Overtime

The Tampa Bay Lightning hope to have Steven Stamkos back during the Stanley Cup Final, their captain was unable to play this postseason due to an injury and played his last game more than seven months ago. The Bolts finally managed to be effective on their power play again and therefore it is important for Dallas not to take too many penalties. In Game 2, the hockey team took six penalties, including three in the first 13 minutes, allowing Tampa Bay to benefit twice from the man advantage. This series is extremely equal in my opinion, especially when Dallas is playing their defensive game, so that is why I'm playing the underdog.