The Lightning were wrapping up a five-game road trip by playing the second half of a back-to-back against a rested opponent. And they had to do it without either Victor Hedman or Brayden Point, both of whom missed the contest with injuries.
Still, the Lightning prevailed. They overcame a flat first period, successfully killed a five-on-three penalty early in the second, and navigated through an Anaheim surge in the final 10 minutes of the third. They received big goals from Anthony Duclair and Luke Glendening in the second period and got several key saves from Jonas Johansson in those closing minutes of the third. That helped them get the game to overtime. In OT, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel teamed up for their second two-on-zero goal of the road trip.
In the opening 20 minutes, the Lightning looked like a team at the end of a long road trip. Their execution wasn’t crisp, and they struggled to generate scoring chances. They posted only five shots on goal. They surrendered the game’s opening tally at 13:49 — off the rush, Ross Johnston deflected in Jakob Silverberg’s centering pass.
Early in the second period, the Lightning took overlapping penalties, giving the Ducks a five-on-three for just over a minute. But the Lightning’s penalty kill was outstanding. The unit managed to clear the puck and made it difficult for the Ducks to re-enter the zone. As the five-on-three was winding down, Johansson posted two saves. Then he stopped two more shots on the five-on-four, keeping the deficit at one.
Shortly after the second penalty ended, the Lightning tied the game. Nick Perbix grabbed a puck at the bottom of the left circle and fired a shot on net. Lukas Dostal made the save, but the rebound came to Duclair at the right circle. Duclair hurried the second shot back to the net, and the puck slipped between Dostal’s pads at 7:50.
The Lightning controlled play for most of the rest of the second period. They took the lead when Glendening stole the puck in the offensive zone and set up Tanner Jeannot for a shot from the left circle. Austin Watson tipped Jeannot’s shot on net. Dostal stopped it with his left pad, but the Lightning converted on the rebound once again. Glendening backhanded the puck into the net at 17:00.
The Ducks tied the game at 2:36 of the third when Pavel Mintyukov joined the rush and buried an open look from the left circle. In the second half of the frame, the Ducks created a handful of Grade-A chances. Lucas Carlsson had three of them, but Johansson didn’t allow another goal.
In overtime, the Lightning were on the wrong end of a three-on-two rush. But Mason McTavish’s drop pass was out of Cam Fowler’s reach. Instead, it came directly to Cirelli, who countered with Hagel on a two-on-zero. Just as they did in Vegas on Tuesday, Cirelli passed to Hagel, who then returned it to Cirelli. Cirelli lifted the puck into the top of the net, winning the game at :58.
It was a terrific road trip for the Lightning, who picked up nine out of a possible 10 points. They begin a three-game homestand on Wednesday against Boston.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Jonas Johansson — Lightning. 30 saves.
- Anthony Cirelli — Lightning. GWG.
- Leo Carlsson — Ducks.
