Brayden Point, Lightning Hold Off Stars in Game 2 to Even 2020 Stanley Cup Final

The Tampa Bay Lightning evened up the 2020 Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars with a 3-2 victory Monday night.

The Lightning continue to rebound well from losses. They haven't dropped back-to-back games since the start of the NHL's modified postseason.

Brayden Point got Tampa Bay on the board first with a goal 11:23 into the first period.

Ondrej Palat followed up just under three minutes later with the team's second goal.

That provided the Lightning with a nice cushion, but the win didn't come without some drama as the Stars clawed their way back. Mattias Janmark made things interesting with a goal 5:27 into the third period.

Tampa Bay held on despite the best efforts of Dallas.

Notable Performers

Nikita Kucherov, RW, Lightning: two assists, six shots

Victor Hedman, D, Lightning: two assists, three shots

Ondrej Palat, LW, Lightning: one goal, six hits

Joe Pavelski, C, Stars: one goal, five shots

Alexander Radulov, RW, Stars: two assists, three shots

Lightning Strike Thrice in Opening Frame

The Lightning were playing from behind for the majority of Game 1 after allowing Joel Hanley to score 5:40 into the first period. Point made sure the same thing wouldn't happen by notching his 10th goal of the playoffs.

Within four minutes, Kevin Shattenkirk put Tampa Bay ahead 3-0.

Power plays were a strength for the Lightning during their regular season. They scored on 23.2 percent of their chances, fifth-best in the NHL. That number fell to 16.9 percent through their first 20 postseason games.

Monday was a reminder of how devastating Tampa Bay can be in those situations as Point and Palat's tallies came when the team was enjoying a man advantage.

The somewhat worrying sign for the Lightning is the Stars arguably outplayed them while at full strength. Capitalizing on power plays is a good thing, but Tampa Bay can't keep relying on them to provide the bulk of its goals going forward.

Stars Unable to Muster Comeback

No lead feels safe against Dallas this postseason as the Stars have shown an impressive level of resilience over the past month. It looked like another comeback was in store Monday even though the Stars found themselves in a big hole.

Joe Pavelski finally found the net for Dallas in the second period.

Throughout the second period, the Western Conference champion was steadily building momentum.

Then came Janmark's goal.

It really looked like the dominoes were falling into place when Mikhail Sergachev scored to make it a 4-2 game but saw the goal wiped out because of an offside.

The Stars threw everything they had at the Lightning in the final minutes to no avail.

What's Next?

The teams return to the ice for Game 3 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.