The Tampa Bay Lightning (49-24-8, 106 points) dug deep and found a way to win, despite an off night defensively at Amalie Arena tonight. Tyler Johnson scored in overtime to give the Bolts a 4-3 win. The Triplets; Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat led the way with nine combined points The Bolts scored three power play goals, including Steven Stamkos‘ 43rd goal of the season.
The first period was a fast and furious one as both teams came out flying.
Three seconds into a power play opportunity, the Devils Steve Bernier beat goalie Ben Bishop stick-side off of the faceoff at 5:06, assisted by Adam Henrique. It was Bernier’s 15th goal of the season.
Just 80 seconds later, the Bolts Tyler Johnson scored his 28th of the season to even the game at one. Assists went to Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. Kucherov found Johnson alone at the right post and he easily tapped it in. It was Johnson’s 70th point of the season.
The Lightning then scored on the power play at 9:13 as Nikita Nesterov beat Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid with a heavy slapshot for his second goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov.
Shots for the period were Tampa Bay eight and New Jersey three.
The ice was tilted in New Jersey’s favor at the start of the second period and it paid off as Patrik Elias scored his 13th of the year at 10:17 from Stephen Gionta. Elias beat Ben Bishop high on the glove side to tie the game at two.
Steven Stamkos put the Bolts up 3-2 when he scored his 43rd of the year, a power play goal, from Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman at 17:42. The power play goal was Stamkos’ second straight game scoring from his patented spot in the left circle.
Sixteen seconds later, the Devils’ Steve Bernier scored his second of the game to pull New Jersey even at three. Adam Henrique and Scott Gomez garnered the assists. Poor defensive coverage left Bernier open in the right circle.
Shots for the period were 15-10 in favor of Tampa Bay.
The scoreless third period saw both teams trade power play chances and New Jersey outshoot Tampa Bay 10-7.
The Bolts started the overtime period on the power play and made it count as Tyler Johnson banked one off a Devils defenseman and in to give the Bolts the 4-3 victory. Kucherov and Palat earned the game winning assists. The goal was Johnson’s 29th of the season.
Tampa Bay has scored a power play goal in five consecutive games. They are now 11-1 when scoring more than one power play goal.
Goalie Ben Bishop was solid in net stopping 21 of 24 shots to earn his 39th win.
The Bolts will go for their 50th win of the season on Saturday versus the Boston Bruins who will be fighting for their playoff life.
Montreal defeated Detroit in overtime tonight, leaving the Bolts two points down in the race for the Atlantic Division crown. The Lightning need a regulation win against the Bruins and a Canadiens regulation loss at Toronto on Saturday night to win the Atlantic Division.
The Stanley Cup playoffs look like they will begin at Amalie Arena on Thursday or Friday of next week. The Bolts will play Detroit, Ottawa, Pittsburgh or the New York Islanders in the first round. They cannot play Montreal, the New York Rangers, Washington or Boston.
This was Sun Sports’ color analyst Bobby “The Chief” Taylor‘s last game in the booth. He will work from the studio during the pre and post game and in between periods.
Braydon Coburn (lower body, Jason Garrison (lower body), Alex Killorn (upper body) and Andrej Sustr (upper body) were the scratches.
(Feature Photograph/Getty Images)
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