Burns: 3 Things we learned from a comeback win in Carolina

No matter the circumstances or the insurmountable odds facing them, the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning continue to just find ways to win.
The Lightning did it again at Carolina Thursday night. Coming off a physical, emotional victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals a night earlier, the Bolts should have been out of gas by the second half of the contest against the Canes playing the tail end of a back-to-back set. Instead, Tampa Bay kicked into high gear in the final frame, scoring four unanswered goals to overcome a 3-2 deficit entering the third and pull out a 6-3 win against a desperate Carolina team trying to hold onto its playoff position.

The Lightning notched their 58th win of the season. Only six teams in NHL history can say they've done that in the regular season. The Bolts reached the 120-point mark, one of 10 teams all-time to do so.
And Tampa Bay remains on pace to tie or break Detroit's NHL record 62 regular season wins during the 1995-96 season. The Lightning need four wins over their last seven games to tie, five wins to own the record outright.
With the way the Bolts are playing right now, winners of seven in a row overall and 10 of their last 11 on the road, does anyone doubt they won't just win out the rest of the way?
Ahead in Three Things, how the Lightning found their game in the third and found themselves on the positive end of the score line yet again.

1. WE RALLY WITH CALLY
Ryan Callahan celebrated his 34th birthday on Thursday and earned a rare spot of late in the lineup, the Lightning opting to sit Adam Erne in the second half of the back-to-back and bring in Callahan's fresh legs.
The second half of the season has not been ideal for Callahan. He's been a healthy scratch since around the beginning of February, the Lightning opting to go with Erne and Mathieu Joseph down the stretch while giving Callahan situational starts. But he's remained the consummate pro, refusing to sulk while continuing to hone his game in practices to be ready when he does get in the lineup.
In Carolina, he got that opportunity. And as has been his standard, he made an immediate impact.
With the game knotted up 3-3 following Anthony Cirelli's game-tying goal 3:35 into the third period, Callahan provided the go-ahead and game-winning goal midway through the final frame, locking eyes with Victor Hedman as the Swedish defenseman was set to shoot from a few steps above the left circle, Hedman's shot/pass threading through traffic and hitting Callahan's stick for a tip into the net and a 4-3 Lightning lead.
"It felt really good," Callahan said of his seventh goal of the season. "Anytime you get in the lineup, you want to contribute the best way you can. It was a pretty big goal at that point in the game. I was really excited when it went in."
Three of Callahan's seven goals have been game-winners, all three coming since January 3.
Callahan has contributed often when he's in the lineup. Counting his goal in Carolina, the right winger has recorded points in seven of the last 13 games he's played in, putting up four goals and four assists.
"It's probably been tough the last two months for him," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who recorded his 300th career NHL win in his 500th game behind the Bolts bench. "He's a total pro and a team guy. This is what he does for us. He gives us energy. You should have seen the reaction from the guys on the bench when he scored a huge goal for us. He's kept himself ready."
Callahan filled up the stat sheet against the Canes. He took five shots, tied for most on the Lightning with Nikita Kucherov. And he dished out seven hits, setting a physical tone throughout the game and injecting life into a Lightning lineup playing its second game in 48 hours.
"He works so hard on and off the ice. He's just a great leader to have in the dressing room and a great guy," Cirelli said. "For him to get that one on his birthday was pretty special."

2. REINVIGORATED POWER PLAY
Tampa Bay's power play has been the best in the NHL for a while now.
And it's been one of the top power-play units the League has ever seen.
But before this most recent back-to-back set, the Lightning power play had been off kilter. Prior to the Washington game, the Bolts had tallied with the man-advantage in just two of their previous nine games, netting four power-play goals total over that stretch.
But the unit went a perfect 3-for-3 in D.C. to lead the Lightning to an overtime victory over the Caps. And a day later in Carolina, the power play produced a pair of goals on its five opportunities, netting the opening goal 3:20 into the game and adding an insurance marker with 3:24 to go to again be a difference maker in the win over the Canes.
"Our power play kind of bailed us out last night," Cooper said. "It was a huge factor again tonight."
Steven Stamkos' power-play goal in the game's opening minutes pulled him into a tie with Brayden Point for the NHL lead for power-play markers with 19, that is until Point tacked on a power-play goal of his own in the closing minutes for his League-leading 20th of the season.
The Lightning have scored multiple power-play goals in two-straight games and 21 games overall this season.
The Bolts are 20-0-1 this season when scoring two or more power-play goals, the only blemish a 5-4 overtime loss at Winnipeg Dec. 16 after going 2-for-2 on the PP.
Tampa Bay's power play is now connecting at a 29.5 percent clip in 2018-19. That's the fourth-highest power-play percentage all-time in the NHL and the best in 40 years.
And it regained its groove during the Bolts' 10th back-to-back set of the season, a good sign as the Lightning continue to fine-tune their game for what they hope is a lengthy playoff run.

3. PERSISTANCE PAYS OFF
To be sure, Thursday's 6-3 win over Carolina was not the smoothest effort of the season from the Lightning.
They struggled to find room in the middle of the ice to create dangerous scoring opportunities in the early-going. An energized Carolina team beat them to loose pucks and buried them in their own zone for long stretches as the Bolts labored to break the puck out cleanly.
But the Lightning stuck with it. They didn't panic, particularly after falling behind 3-2 at 6:34 of the second period on a strong move to the net by Jordan Staal. They could have opened up defensively to try and generate more offense, but the way the Hurricanes were playing, that could have led to multiple goals against and the end of any comeback hopes.
Instead, they remained with the game plan, continued to work hard to create offensively and were rewarded with four unanswered goals in the third period to win going away.
"I don't think much changed," Callahan said of Tampa Bay's third period. "We stayed consistent with the way we were playing. We didn't try to get away from anything. We still were getting chances. We still were getting pucks deep, trying to concentrate on getting turnovers. If you play a consistent game like that and keep bringing it to teams, with our talent usually we find a way to score."
Teams may be able to hold the Lightning offense in check for a period, maybe even two periods.
But if the Lightning are playing the game the right way, the way they want to play, which is quite often, no opponent is going to keep them off the scoresheet for the entirety.
Carolina found out Thursday night.
Tampa Bay scored six goals in Raleigh to set another franchise record, this one for most goals in a season. The Lightning netted 290 goals last season.
They have 292 goals this season.
So how do the Lightning keep finding ways to pull out victories, even when things look bleak, like it did for a stretch of the second period in Carolina?
"I think it's just our composure, our demeanor," Callahan said. "Everybody talks about it in the media the type of season we're having, but very rarely do you hear us mention it in here. We're always trying to build our game. We know the real season starts in two weeks here, and that's what we're focused on, trying to get better, trying to keep getting wins and make sure we're playing our best hockey in two weeks."