Throughout their franchise history, the Lightning have struggled in Minnesota. Heading into this game, they’d managed to win just three times in 19 games. During that time, they’ve lost just about every conceivable way possible.
On this occasion, however, the Lightning were catching Minnesota in the second half of a back-to-back. Although the first game was also a home contest for the Wild, the Lightning were coming in as the fresher team. Ideally, they’d force the Wild to play from behind.
Instead, the Lightning committed two grievous line change errors in the opening minutes and surrendered two goals as a result. A slow change in the opening minute allowed Blake Coleman to skate freely into the offensive zone and finish a shot from the left circle at :55. Soon after, the Lightning were called for having too many men on the ice, and it happened when they had possession of the puck during a routine breakout from the defensive zone. On the ensuring power play, Max Shabanov collected a puck at the left circle, walked to the slot, and swept in a backhand shot at 2:58.
After the second goal, the Lightning settled down and got into their game. And that’s when they used the circumstantial advantage of the schedule to their benefit. They dictated play for much of the rest of the night. They ended up outshooting the Wild, 34-22, and held a shot attempt advantage of 83-42.
Calvin Pickard got the start for Minnesota, just his third of the season (all three have been in the second half of back-to-backs), and he made several difficult saves to help his team. The Lightning also lacked puck luck, hitting two posts during a first-period power play and one more during a late first-period penalty kill. On that third post, Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel had a clean two-on-zero rush, and Hagel rang his shot off the post.
The Lightning got through an early second-period kill to keep the deficit at 2-0. Then just past the halfway point of the game, Minnesota began a steady parade to the penalty box. It started with a Ryan Hartman double-minor after a post-whistle scrum. The second penalty—an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction—proved to be costly for the Wild, because the Lightning converted on it. Guentzel one-timed a right-circle shot past Pickard’s glove at 16:34.
The Lightning continued to generate chances through the end of the frame (including on another power play) and into the third, but they couldn’t find the tying goal. Then, on what appeared to be a momentum-swinging play, Shabanov took a puck coast-to-coast and zipped a left-circle shot past Dennis Hildeby at 6:49 to reestablish a two-goal Minnesota lead.
The Wild managed the next several minutes well to preserve the 3-1 advantage. But then, with under six and a half minutes left, they made a coverage mistake of their own. Three Wild defenders converged on Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Nikita Kucherov at the Minnesota blue line. D’Astous worked the puck to Brayden Point at the right circle, creating a two-on-one down low with Guentzel, who’d established netfront position. Point fed Guentzel for a redirection over Pickard’s stick at 13:44. The assist for Point was his 700th career point.
The Lightning had regained momentum and kept up the pressure. Less than a minute later, Conor Geekie skated onto a loose puck in the offensive zone with a path to the net. That forced Coleman to take a holding penalty.
It was the Lightning’s fifth power play of the game. Over the first minute and a half, they worked the puck around effectively and put pucks on net. Eventually, Zach Bogosian rimmed a puck around the boards in an attempt to clear it. The puck barely skipped off the glass and went out of play, setting up an o-zone faceoff for the Lightning. It nearly stayed in play—that would have provided the Wild with a final clear on the kill.
Jon Cooper called timeout. He pulled Hildeby for the extra attacker and sent Zemgus Girgensons out for the faceoff against Nico Sturm, who owns the best faceoff percentage on the Wild. Crucially, Girgensons won the draw. Seconds later, D’Astous cranked a point shot past Pickard’s glove, tying the game at 16:29.
In overtime, the Wild won the first two faceoffs, and through the first two minutes-plus, they owned all the possession. Hildeby made two saves, including a key stop on Kirill Kaprizov off the rush. Eventually, Guentzel jumped on a loose puck in front of the Lightning’s net. He might have had a two-on-one up ice with Kucherov, but Matt Boldy tripped Kucherov. During the four-on-three, Kucherov won the game with a shot from the high slot into the top of the net at 3:23.
It was a remarkable comeback win for the Lightning against the best defensive team in the NHL (the Wild entered the game with a 2.17 ga/g average. The Lightning’s power play certainly helped, netting three PPG in a game for the first time this season.
On Sunday, the shoe will be on the other foot when the Lightning visit Winnipeg. Tampa Bay will be the team playing the second half of a back-to-back against a rested opponent.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Lightning. Career-high three points.
- Jake Guentzel — Lightning. Two goals and assist.
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. GWG in OT, assist. Nine shots. 20 attempts.
