Stanley Cup Final Game 5 Blog: Stars vs. Lightning

Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is in the books, but the series is not over.
The Stars
win in double overtime to force a Game 6
on Monday.
NHL.com
's Tim Campbell was in Rogers Place in Edmonton to provide all the sights and sounds from Game 5 and will be back on Monday.

RELATED: [Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

11:58 p.m. ET

At 9:23 of the second overtime, the Stars have scored to extend the series. The officials are having a quick look but it looks like Corey Perry has jammed the puck home. And the call is confirmed,
Dallas wins 3-2
.
Series now 3-2 in favor of the Lightning. Come back Monday for Game 6.
What a game, what a series this is shaping up to be.

11:45 p.m. ET

Second overtime underway. Best chance comes early but Denis Gurianov of the Stars shoots wide on a breakaway.

11:28 p.m. ET

A second overtime will be needed. The Lightning outshot the Stars 7-1 in that first OT. It took Dallas nearly 18 minutes to get its shot, that by Jamie Benn.
The Lightning were pressing the entire overtime, playing on their toes and looking to attack at every turn. It certainly appeared that Dallas was in survival mode.
If you are watching and couldn't detect some cross words being exchanged, that icing call late in the period had tempers flaring on each side, at their opponents and also at the officials. But it ended with no damage either way, and so we go to a fifth period, still unsure if there's a Stanley Cup-clinching hero to be made, or a different kind of hero that forces a Game 6 on Monday.

11:20 p.m. ET

The Lightning have the only five shots of the overtime so far and have really pressed. They are not playing a conservative overtime.
Each team has had one excellent look from the slot but couldn't hit the net.

11:08 p.m. ET

Tampa Bay has been clinical in its attack in the overtime. The Lightning have had the only three shots of the period so far, and several good looks.
They have also not been afraid to throw three fore checkers after the puck if there seems to be any doubt that the Stars have control of it.

10:55 p.m. ET

OK, here we go in overtime of what's been a fairly even game. It has seemed like Dallas has been on the ropes lots, but they tied the game late and are not going away. Tampa Bay has a 30-27 advantage in shots heading in OT.
Long change period in the first overtime. Will it be a factor? Stay tuned. Here we go.
Big question is: Who will be the hero tonight?

10:40 p.m. ET

For a second straight game, overtime is going to decide the result.
The Lightning need the goal to win the Stanley Cup.
The Stars need the goal to force a Game 6 on Monday. They have been awfully resilient in this game. When the momentum appeared to be in Tampa Bay's favor and that they were finished, down 2-1 will less than seven minutes to play, they found a way to tie the game and give us some extra hockey tonight.
Another compelling finish, including a possible victory celebration, coming up.

10:30 p.m. ET

Dallas gets another power-play chance thanks to a high stick by Tampa Bay's Erik Cernak but it's largely a bust for a second time tonight.
But on the face-off the comes as soon as the penalty is over, Joe Pavelski bangs in a rebound and the game is 2-2. The Dallas bench matched Tampa Bay's in terms of a celebration and the noise level.
RELATED: [Pavelski breaks record for postseason goals scored by U.S.-born player]
This is pretty much the story of the Dallas Stars in these playoffs. When all looks grim, they find something to keep going. We are less than six minutes from a possible overtime.

10:20 p.m. ET

During the last TV timeout, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper had a forceful conversation with his defensemen, and then he turned and gave the same message to some of the forwards. The conversation couldn't be heard above the arena music but based on body language and hand gestures, it sure looked to me like Cooper was imploring his players to keep their shifts short, not get caught on any long shifts and to keep their energy up with regular changes.
With their 2-1 lead, the Lightning, as of now, don't need any more goals to win the Stanley Cup. That's a pretty strong position to be in during the third period of a Cup Final game.

10:08 p.m. ET

Mikhail Sergachev's screen shot from the left point finds the back of the net and touches off a big celebration. He was down on one knee giving it a couple of strong right fist pumps and had a grin that could turn out to be worth a Stanley Cup.
Dallas now has 15 minutes to get this game back to even or their season is over.

10 p.m. ET

Andrej Sekara is back on the Dallas bench to start the third period and now is back in the game. His return could be a critical help to the Stars' energy level, to not have to go with five defensemen the rest of the way.

9:45 p.m. ET

The second period ends with the game tied 1-1. Shots favor Tampa Bay 22-15 but it has gone fairly evenly with pressure stints on each side.
The Lightning are one winning period away from a Stanley Cup. The Stars need a period win to extend the series to a Game 6 on Monday.
Given this is a back-to-back situation, the teams having played here Friday, there's been surprisingly little in the way of major blunders in this game and the energy level you can detect by hearing how vocal the benches continue to be, and their body language while the players there wait for their next shift, says the high intensity continues.
Stay tuned for the third. Another great finish coming up.

9:33 p.m. ET

Dallas gets its first power play of the game and once again, it's just off by a fraction. It's been a sore spot in the last couple of games for the Stars. You can get a sense of the frustration if you look at the bench while it's going on. Each time there's a fumbled puck or a missed pass, heads drop or shake.
After the power play was over, the Lightning still had to survive a couple of icing calls when they could not change. But they managed to get it to the final TV timeout of the period without any damage.

9:22 p.m. ET

The authentic, unfiltered sounds of the game continue to amaze me. Just before the last TV timeout, you could hear a voice from the Dallas bench ask, "Why is that not icing?"
It illustrates, again, just how into the game these players are, how amped up they are and how maximized their adrenaline is while the game is in progress. Sometimes, often actually, some more colorful language can be heard, but it's just part of the iintensity.
Andrej Sekara, in the meantime, still has not re-appeared at the Dallas bench. He did not start the second period and the Stars are operating with five defensemen.

9:15 p.m. ET

Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat cruises in on the right wing and ties the game, wrapping the puck around Stars goalie Anton Khudobin at 4:37. The Lightning had done little in the period up to that point but as usual, the goal brought an eruption of noise from the bench that echoed throughout Rogers Place.
The Stars have begun the second period without defenseman Andrej Sekera.
It's got to be in some ways frustrating for Dallas. In several games of this series, they have had to operate with a short bench due to injuries and misconducts.

8:49 p.m. ET

The first period is over and the Stars have an important small victory within the game that they must win.
They bent but did not break under the dogged Lightning forecheck, and Anton Khudobin made a couple of big saves, including one on Nikita Kucherov in the final minute of the period.
Another good sign for Dallas is that once the mid-point of the period passed, the Stars were more on their toes and their bench was certainly more alive. In the early going, that intense Tampa Bay pressure seemed to be weighing on them, but they survived it and took the lead going to the intermission.

8:45 p.m. ET

After a long stretch without a whistle, Dallas forward Corey Perry swoops into the slot, picks up a loose puck and lifts it under the crossbar and into the net behind Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Stars draw first blood in a must-win game. Meanwhile, with the long stretch of play, we are presently two TV timeouts behind. There has only been one this period and we're coming up to the last minute of play.

8:40 p.m. ET

Takeaways from the first 13 minutes of the game:
While we wait for the first goal of the game, there's always the tunes list to check out. Tonight it will include appropriate titles High Hopes by Panic! At The Disco and Lights Up by Harry Styles.

8:30 p.m ET

Inadvertent as it was, Tyler Seguin of the Stars is guilty of high sticking Brayden Point and the Lightning have their first power play of the game.
That was tempting fate, given Tampa Bay's three power-play goals in Game 4, but Anton Khudobin was sharp, including a big save on Point.
Tampa Bay has come out pressing in the first seven minutes of the game, clearly eager to take care of business tonight, but Khudobin looks sharp, especially playing for the second straight night.

7:59 p.m. ET

Well, our game night starts with a little early amusement.
Don't tell me Tyler Seguin of the Stars isn't at least a little superstitious. The usual end-of-warmups business was taking place, with Seguin and Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev the last two players on the ice. Each was gliding toward his bench and dressing room, the horn having sounded to end the session.
Normally, Seguin would twirl and turn and stall and make sure he was the last one off, as he does before just about every game he plays. That was the case before each of the first four games of this Final. Seguin was batting 4-for-4.
But tonight, Seguin looked over and saw Sergachev approaching the Tampa Bay bench. This time, the Dallas forward rushed ahead, literally running off the ice and down the tunnel before Sergachev knew what hit him. Tonight's designation as last man off goes to Sergachev, because Seguin wanted it that way.
Let's see if it changes anything. Game 5 is coming up.

7:47 p.m. ET

No surprise in either team's warmups tonight.
For the Stars, Justin Dowling and Jason Robertson are on the ice. Neither has played in the playoffs but it's likely one makes his first playoff appearance tonight. Dowling probably gets the nod. He played 13 postseason games for the Stars last season.
Forward Alexander Volkov is in the warmups for Tampa Bay, but it's unlikely he'll draw in tonight.
We are about 20 minutes away from puck drop.

7 p.m. ET

The clock is ticking down to warmups in Rogers Place tonight and the Stanley Cup will be in the house.
That will provide all the necessary drama and anticipation for tonight. Good thing, because it looks unlikely that the warmups will do much of that.
We know from interviews this morning that Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos
will not be in Game 5
.
And neither will Dallas forwards Blake Comeau and RoopeHintz, said to be unfit to play by Stars coach Rick Bowness. Already, Dallas was missing forward Radek Faksa from its group.
Stay tuned, a potential Cup-winning night is coming up.