An early 3-0 lead for the Tampa Bay Lightning was all it took to put the Stanley Cup Final into overdrive, as the Stars spent the final 40 minutes of Game 2 furiously putting pucks on net in an attempt to draw even. They fell just short, but in doing so they helped give some real sharp edges to this series between unfamiliar opponents.
As normal as it's become to watch games with no crowd, there's undeniably a level of intensity that gets lost when all the noise in an arena is fake. But once the Stars were forced to chase the game on Monday night, their battle with Tampa suddenly felt like a legit struggle for the championship, with all the pain and sweat and nasty feelings that implies. Here are some of the shots that best captured the on-ice tension. (All photos via Bruce Bennett for Getty Images.)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Brayden Point #21 of the Tampa Bay Lightning is checked into Anton Khudobin #35 by Miro Heiskanen #4 of the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Victor Hedman #77 and Cedric Paquette #13 of the Tampa Bay Lightning scuffle with John Klingberg #3 of the Dallas Stars during the second period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Roope Hintz #24 of the Dallas Stars gets tried up with Kevin Shattenkirk #22 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Corey Perry #10 of the Dallas Stars is checked by Ryan McDonagh #27 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning collides into Anton Khudobin #35 of the Dallas Stars during the second period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Mattias Janmark #13 of the Dallas Stars is checked by Victor Hedman #77 and Tyler Johnson #9 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Joel Kiviranta #25 of the Dallas Stars is checked into the boards by Ryan McDonagh #27 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 21: Joe Pavelski #16 of the Dallas Stars gets tripped up against Barclay Goodrow #19 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game Two of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on September 21, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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