DALLAS (AP) — Roope Hintz scored with 4:50 remaining and the Dallas Stars forced Tampa Bay to wait at least another day to clinch a playoff spot, beating the Lightning 1-0 on Tuesday night.
The Lightning could have clinched their fifth consecutive playoff berth and eighth in the past nine years with a victory. The two-time defending champions beat the Stars in the Stanley Cup Final for the first of those two titles in the 2020 playoff bubble in Canada.
Good scoring chances on both ends had come up empty before a shot by Jason Robertson created a scramble that ended with Joe Pavelski passing from behind the end line to Hintz in the slot.
Scott Wedgewood stopped 25 shots for his first shutout since joining the Stars in a trade with Arizona. It was the fifth of his career.
Dallas started the night two points ahead of Vegas for the second of two wild cards in the Western Conference. The Stars have a game in hand on the Golden Knights, who were playing later.
The Stars beat Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for just the second time in 17 games. He has five of his 28 career shutouts against Dallas. Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.
Luke Glendening created several short-handed chances for himself in the second period and almost scored an empty-net goal late as the Stars held off a mad scramble at 6-on-5 in the final minute.
Tyler Seguin, stung by a blocked shot earlier, was dinged again in the final 10 seconds when he stymied a shot from Victor Hedman.
Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell was penalized twice in the second period, but the Stars ended up with better scoring chances than the Lightning on both penalty kills.
After Lindell was called for cross-checking midway through the second, Dallas spent most of the second minute in its offensive end, and Vasilevskiy had to make two saves on shots by Glendening.
Hintz and Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov collided near center ice in the second period, leaving both players stunned as they picked up sticks that had been jarred loose. Kucherov went straight to his bench. Both stayed in the game.
Glendening had another chance in the final seconds of Lindell's high-sticking penalty late in the second, but a backhand went just wide.
NOTES: Jamie Benn of Dallas and Tampa Bay's Nicholas Paul had a lengthy fight without any significant punches thrown, or landed, midway through the first period. It finally ended when Paul lost his footing as Benn threw a couple of punches that went over the top of him. ... The Stars' Vladislav Namestnikov didn't return after the first period because of a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Lightning: A five-game homestand, the longest of the season, starts Thursday against Anaheim. Tampa Bay is in a stretch of 11 of 13 games at home.
Stars: Minnesota visits Thursday. The winning team has scored at least six goals in each of the three meetings this season. Dallas has 7-4 and 6-3 victories. The Wild took the first matchup 7-2.
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