Tampa Bay Lightning get goal from Steven Stamkos as they beat Dallas Stars in Game 3

The Tampa Bay Lightning got another big performance from their stars Wednesday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, including one they had not seen in seven months.

Captain Steven Stamkos made what amounted to a cameo appearance in his return from March core muscle surgery and a lower-body injury in July. He had last played on Feb. 25.

But he made the most of it, scoring on his third shift of the game – and first shot – to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead on the way to a 5-2 victory against the Dallas Stars that gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"It was just an amazing experience to share with my teammates," he told reporters after the game.

Game 4 is Friday night (8 p.m. ET, NBC) in the Edmonton, Alberta, bubble.

A look at Game 3:

Stamkos learned Tuesday that he would return to the lineup. He played less than three minutes and didn't skate a shift after the first period, saying, "There’s an issue that I’ve been working through."

The Lightning didn't need him.

Nikita Kucherov scored on a first-period breakaway and Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat scored in the second period.

"At this time of the year, you want to do anything you can to help your team win," Stamkos said. "I’ve watched these guys be so committed to what our end goal is and to be part of it tonight was a dream come true."

Hedman's goal was his 10th of the playoffs, moving him into sole possession of third best by a defenseman in one postseason. Hockey Hall of Famer Paul Coffey holds the record with 12 goals for the Edmonton Oilers in 1984-85. Hedman also had two assists in the game.

"I like to contribute offensively, but ... we're not here for our personal stats," he said. "We're here for one thing, and that's winning the Stanley Cup."

After Stamkos' goal, the Stars went on a surge and got a short-handed goal from Jason Dickinson to trail by one after the first period.

But with the Lightning ahead 3-1 in the second period, the Stars made an ill-timed line change and Point scored off a Kucherov feed on a 3-on-1 break.

"It was self-inflicted. We gave them the first four goals," said Stars coach Rick Bowness. “You look at the fourth goal, I don’t know what they were doing.”

The Stars trailed their first-round series against the Calgary Flames and came back to win in six games.

"We’re just going to take the momentum back in the next game, come hard at them and even the series," defenseman John Klingberg said.

With the Stars trailing 5-1 after two periods, Bowness gave backup goalie Jake Oettinger the net for the third period. He stopped all three shots he faced.

That gives No. 1 goalie Anton Khudobin rest with Games 4 and 5 about to be played on back-to-back nights this weekend.

Khudobin, who has shined in the playoffs, didn't see it that way.

“I think coach made a decision to shake it up or change something," he said. "I didn’t feel like I needed to get rest. If he decided to play me in the third period, I would be ready.”

Stars forward Alexander Radulov lined up Tampa Bay's Blake Coleman in the third period but missed and went hard into the boards.

He got up but went to the dressing room a little later. He returned but immediately went back to the room. Bowness said he didn't have an update on Radulov.