Lightning rally late to defeat Carolina
Three third period goals helped the Bolts overcome a slow start and defeat Carolina 3-1 on Thursday
by Jacob Lynn / TampaBayLightning.com
Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point scored late power play goals as the Lightning rallied to defeat the Hurricanes 3-1 at Amalie Arena on Thursday.
The win extends Tampa Bay's home winning streak to nine games.
For most of Thursday's game, however, that streak seemed to be in jeopardy.
Tampa Bay failed to generate much offensive pressure for most of the night.
Carolina held a 12-3 shot advantage through a scoreless first period as the Lightning were lacking in the attacking zone. When the Lightning did create chances for themselves, Petr Mrazek proved tough to crack.
Video: CAR@TBL: Vasilevskiy denies Rask on odd-man rush
Justin Williams opened the scoring for the Canes, pouncing on a rebound early in the second period. Andrei Vasilevskiy made a pad save on a shot from Dougie Hamilton but the rebound bounced right to Williams who fired the puck into the open net.
Tampa Bay thought it had tied the game a few minutes later on a Brayden Point goal. After having the initial shot on a breakaway stopped by Mrazek, Point batted the rebound out of the air and into the net to apparently tie the game. Carolina challenged, however, and the review revealed that Tyler Johnson was still partially on the ice entering the bench as Point crossed the blueline.
Carolina held onto the one goal lead until Palat equalized with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation. Steven Stamkos took a shot that deflected right to Palat and he was able to force the puck across the line to tie the game.
With Greg McKegg in the box for hooking late in the third period, Point settled into open space on the edge of the circle and one-timed a feed from Nikita Kucherov past Mrazek to give the Bolts the lead for good.
Point added an empty net tally with 25 seconds to play to ice the game for the Lightning.
Video: CAR@TBL: Point nets PPG to give Lightning lead
The two goals and assist give Point two-straight three-point performances. Palat's goal also broke a seven-game scoreless drought.
Tampa Bay now hits the road to begin a trip that features three games in four nights. The trip begins with an Atlantic Division matchup in Buffalo on Saturday night.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
CAR | 4:34 Justin Williams (11) - Dougie Hamilton
3rd Period
TBL | 11:56 Ondrej Palat (5) - Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point - PPG
TBL | 16:45 Brayden Point (27) - Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman - PPG
TBL | 19:34 Brayden Point (28) - Steven Stamkos, Alex Killorn - EN