Victor Hedman scores overtime winner as Lightning reach Eastern Conference Finals

The Tampa Bay Lightning are in the final four of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Monday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Lightning captain Victor Hedman of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden scored the game winning goal at 14:10 of double overtime as the Lightning beat the Boston Bruins 3-2.

This was the fourth Lightning overtime win in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They previously beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on August 11, and  5-4 on August 19, and then the Bruins 4-3 on August 25. In Tampa Bay’s three prior overtime winners, Brayden Point had the two memorable goals against the Blue Jackets, and Ondrej Palat notched the other winner against the Bruins. Point’s overtime winner on August 11 came in quintuple overtime.

However, on Monday, it was Hedman who had the spotlight for Tampa Bay. The 2018 Norris Trophy winner notched his first career overtime winner of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as he scored from Calgary native Brayden Point and Kevin Shattenkirk of New Rochelle, NY.

Hedman was one of three Lightning players with a multi-point game. Shattenkirk and Point each notched two assists. The other two Lightning goal scorers were Anthony Cirelli of Woodbridge, Ontario, and Ondrej Palat of Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic. It was a very strong offensive performance from Palat, who had 10 shots on goal. Palat actually had almost a third of the Lightning’s shots on goal, as they were outshot 47-35.

Tampa Bay’s opponent in the Eastern Conference Final will either be the New York Islanders or Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders lead the Flyers three games to one in their Eastern Conference semi-final series.

Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche stayed alive on Monday with a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars. The Stars still lead the Western Conference semi-final series three games to two. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights lead the Vancouver Canucks three games to one.

The Islanders and Golden Knights can wrap up their series on Tuesday. The Stars can wrap up their series on Wednesday.