Down 3-1 to a better team, time is running out for the Stars. The calls aren't exactly helping either - The Dallas Morning News

The Stars are potentially nearing the end of a marvelous ride and the NHL is cutting the team no slack in the schedule. Less than 21 hours after losing 5-4 on a power play overtime goal that followed a highly suspect penalty call, the Stars must take the ice one more time against the formidable Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night.

A team that was perfect (5-0) in overtime during this strange post-season saw that record slip to 5-1 at the worst time late Friday as Kevin Shattenkirk fired a shot from along the boards through Jamie Oleksiak’s legs before beating goaltender Anton Khudobin where so many shots eventually beat him, on the blocker side. That leaves the Stars with the challenge of needing three straight wins against a team that has too many weapons, too much experience and has outshot the Stars by an average of eight per night (134-102) since this series began a week ago.

Should Jamie Benn have been in the penalty box?

Referee Francis Charron called him for tripping Tyler Johnson, a player he fought to the ice but a player Benn most decidedly did not trip. Tampa Bay, of course, could argue that it should have been awarded a power play near the end of regulation that would have run into overtime when elite scorer Brayden Point was called for embellishment after taking a Corey Perry stick right between the legs. In all, it was an oddly officiated game with more marginal (or wrong) penalties being whistled than we generally see this deep into a Stanley Cup Final.

Regardless, here we are. Or here the Stars are.

Their hopes were soaring after winning Game 1, a night that health and recovery were clearly on Dallas' side after the club got a few days' rest while Tampa Bay was battling the New York Islanders over and over in extra periods to get to the Final.

But since then, it’s 13-8 Tampa Bay as the Lightning’s top players — Point, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and more — regularly find their way onto the scoresheet. This is not a surprise, nor is it an embarrassment. With several key players still on this roster, Tampa Bay advanced to the Cup Final five years ago before losing to Chicago. They lost Eastern Conference Finals to Cup winners Pittsburgh and Washington. In the last complete regular season, Tampa Bay produced the absurd record of 62-16-4 before a stunning first-round upset at the hands of Columbus, a loss that may have motivated them deep into September in 2020.

If anyone it is Khudobin who looks like he could use a breather after sailing through the Western Conference Final and limiting Vegas to eight goals in five games. Tampa Bay is much more highly skilled and we see the Stars defense making mistakes and getting shredded at the worst of times. Seconds before Shattenkirk’s winner, the Stars' Miro Heiskanen —considered their top Conn Smythe Trophy candidate if they were to win the Cup — got roasted by Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev who skated in all alone but failed to slip the puck past Khudobin.

It’s a short night of rest (and if you’re wondering about that, NBC’s Sunday Night Football has plenty do with why Games 4 and 5 are being played back to back), and this is the biggest hurdle the Stars have faced. They were down to Calgary 2-1 and losing in the final seconds of Game 4 in the opening round before Joe Pavelski rescued the team while producing the first playoff hat trick in Dallas Stars history.

One had to wonder if Pavelski had another one in him since he scored twice to get the game to 4-4 Friday. But Tampa Bay just takes over the game too quickly and for long stretches, and now it’s up to the Stars to pull off a dramatic reversal.

They can’t take bad penalties but who can say if they were really guilty of that Friday night when it counted? As the Lightning skated around in celebration, Tyler Seguin, who had his best game in a month with two assists, smashed his stick on the Stars' bench. His friend, the captain, skated helplessly out of the penalty box shaking his head.

"Tyler Johnson steps in front of Jamie Benn, Jamie breathes on him and he falls on the ice,'' Pavelski said. "In overtime, we expect 5-on-5, we expect to battle it out. But that doesn’t change our mindset.''

It’s 3-1 Tampa Bay and the Stars are losing to what, statistically and repeatedly, can only be viewed as a better team. This was always going to be a difficult task. It just felt nearly impossible when it counted late Friday night.

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Find more Stars stories from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Down 3-1 to a better team, time is running out for the Stars. The calls aren't exactly helping either - The Dallas Morning News
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