from Travis Yost of TSN,

Dallas has proven this postseason that they can win in a variety of ways. The Stars proved capable in a high-flying, up-tempo second-round series against an Avalanche team with incredible offensive firepower. The Stars then faced a completely different animal in the Western Conference final. Vegas expectedly owned the puck all series long, hemming the Stars into the defensive zone on a regular basis. There, the Stars leaned on quality interior defence and white-hot goaltending from Anton Khudobin to advance.

Tampa Bay poses a different challenge. They have the individual shooting talent at the top of their lineup that compares well with the likes of Colorado, but they also can possess the puck for extended periods like Vegas. That’s why the Lightning have been regarded as the most talented team in the league for a few years now, and it’s tested Stars head coach Rick Bowness.

The most concerning of the issues facing Dallas is the fact that an exceptionally talented blueline has spent most of their time in this series surviving shifts. When you have stars like Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg anchoring your top four (and really, your team), you need them dominating at both ends of the ice. But Heiskanen (playing with Jamie Oleksiak) and Klingberg (playing with Esa Lindell) have been bottled up all series long by Tampa Bay’s top-nine forwards, and the Bolts’ top line – the wondrous trio of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat – has been running wild:

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