Special teams and a last-second goal squandered a Tampa Bay Lightning comeback effort on Sunday in a 4-3 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Winnipeg scored three goals on the power play in the win, including the game-deciding tally from Mark Scheifele during a 5-on-3 advantage with 0.3 seconds remaining.
“Everybody saw what happened in the last two minutes of the game, and it’s unfortunate,” coach Jon Cooper said. “But give the guys credit. We could’ve easily just mailed that one in, pulled the goalie, gave up an empty-netter, been down 4-0 and said chalk it up to a late back-to-back. Instead, they gutted one out and we pushed for 59 minutes and 59 seconds. It just sucks the way it ended.”
A scoreless first period was followed by a busier second frame, and it was the host Jets who made the most of their opportunities to grab a 2-0 lead.
Winnipeg forward Cole Perfetti scored from the bumper position on the power play 1:53 into the middle frame to make it 1-0, and the Jets doubled the lead on a Morgan Barron goal.
Ten seconds after killing a Lightning power play, Neal Pionk circled the Lightning net and passed to an open Barron at the right faceoff dot. Barron fired the shot through Andrei Vasilevskiy, making it 2-0 with 7:22 left in the period.
Less than 24 hours removed from its best performance of the season, the Lightning power play had multiple chances to tie Sunday's game, but shots on goal weren’t as easy to find. The Lightning finished with one power-play shot over four opportunities.
A double minor for high-sticking then went against Tampa Bay in the third period and allowed Winnipeg to further its lead. Brayden Yager made it 3-0 on a power-play rebound near the right post in the eighth minute of the period.
“We’ve got to be better on the PK,” Brandon Hagel said postgame. “I truly believe in what we’re doing out there. It starts with myself, execution on it. I don’t think it’s for a lack of the system. I think it’s a lack of executing and details, so that’s got to be a little bit better and I think we know that.”
Tampa Bay’s response began shortly after, as the visitors came back to tie the game.
Anthony Cirelli and Hagel combined to cut the score to 3-1 midway through the final frame, as Cirelli stripped Yager of the puck below the goal line and fed a pass to Hagel in the slot for an open finish.
“I think that always gains a little momentum,” Hagel said. “I think when one goes in, you never know, and that’s kind of what happened. We started getting pucks to the net and then another one falls and obviously the momentum’s on our side and we took advantage, and then another one goes in.”
Tampa Bay appeared to have forced overtime for a second straight night behind two quick strikes from Holmberg—the forward scored twice in 26 seconds to tie the game with just 5:33 left in regulation.
Holmberg buried a rebound chance following a Cernak point shot on the 3-2 goal and then tied the game with another rebound look at the left post.
“That was fast. It was a good push by us,” Holmberg said. “A little bit lucky maybe, but it was coming from good things.”
Consecutive penalties with less than two minutes left in the game halted Tampa Bay’s comeback bid, as Winnipeg’s third power-play goal of the night prevented the visitors from earning a standings point.
The Jets prevented a Lightning clearance in the dying moments of regulation, and Perfetti’s pass from the right boards fed an open Scheifele for a one-timer in the left circle with less than a second remaining for a 4-3 final score.
“5-on-3 is 5-on-3,” Cooper said. “Those are tough ones to get out of, and they almost did it for a minute. We’ve been stung by some late goals, nothing later than that one, but we’re not used to that. We’ve got the talent to be better at that, and I’m sure we will.”
Holmberg and Cernak co-led the team with two points apiece, while Scheifele joined Perfetti and Viggo Bjorck with two-point performances on the other side.
Vasilevskiy made 21 saves for the Lightning, who are now 11-4-2.
“I think it's just one of those funny things that happens in sports every once in a while, and it happened to us,” Hagel said of the penalties and finish. “It sucks, but the team came back. The team was resilient. The team didn't give up and just go out as a bad game. We pushed. Whether that was for 20 out of the 60 minutes, or whatever it was, we still found a way to come back. But like I said, that (result) sucks.”
The Lightning continue play Wednesday, when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop.
Game notes:
- Yanni Gourde made his season debut after missing the first 16 games due to offseason hip surgery. He played 15:41 and finished with one shot on goal and three hits. His nine faceoff wins led the team.
- Erik Cernak’s first assist on Sunday was the 100th of his career, making him the ninth defenseman in franchise history to reach the mark.
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
1. Mark Scheifele, WPG (GWG, assist)
2. Pontus Holmberg, TBL (2 goals)
3. Cole Perfetti, WPG (Goal, assist)
