Was it perfect? The Lightning know it wasn’t.
But the result of Monday night’s Atlantic Division game at Benchmark International Arena won’t change—Tampa Bay held off a late charge by the Detroit Red Wings for a 4-3 overtime victory, their 50th win of the season.
Tampa Bay improved to 50-25-6 on a night that ended with a familiar Bolts scene.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy denied a rush look for Red Wing Alex DeBrincat at one end, propelling Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point on a 2-on-1 rush the other way.
Kucherov dished to Point for the give-and-go, and the former buried a tap-in at the net only 27 seconds into the extra period for the 4-3 win. Tampa Bay hit 50 wins in a season for the fifth time in franchise history and the first since 2021-22.
"There's so many good players in this room that can end the game. Vas obviously made a big save in overtime, and Kuch and Pointer kind of did their thing,” Lightning forward Conor Geekie said of the night. “But I think from top to bottom we weathered the storm, and again, we got the extra point.”
Detroit made the most of an early chance to take a lead—forward JT Compher found a rebound in front of the Lightning net and passed to an open David Perron at the right circle, where the latter potted the puck for the 1-0 goal just past the fifth minute of the game.
Geekie’s first goal of the season then evened the score.
Forward Oliver Bjorkstrand chipped the puck to the top of the defensive zone late in the first period, and the 21-year-old Geekie sprinted to the Detroit net on a breakaway, switched the puck to his forehand and snapped a shot inside the blocker of goalie Cam Talbot with 2:55 remaining in the frame.
"Just don't lose the puck was kind of the thought,” Geekie said of his approach to the open lane. “I've seen Kuch do it 1,000 times, and figured I'd try it. And like I said, lucky enough, it went in.”
Both his teammates and coach were impressed with Geekie’s performance, one they said stood out since his most recent recall.
"This might have been his best game he's had with us since he's been up, and he was really moving his feet. I thought, actually, their whole line was pretty good for most of the night,” coach Jon Cooper said. “But as you can see when he got that breakaway and he was pulling away, he has that in his game. He's just getting more mature as a player, and he just had command of himself. He didn't play a ton, but he was really good when he was out there."
After escaping the first period with the score tied, it was a pair of Lightning defensemen who kept the offense rolling in the second frame.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh snuck to the right hashmark and got the puck on net before grabbing the rebound, outwaiting the Red Wings and feeding it to defensive partner Erik Cernak in the slot for Tampa Bay’s first lead with 4:07 left before the intermission.
“I was hoping for that,” Cernak said of the pass. “He showed great patience with the puck there. Nobody covered me, and I just put that one in. That was a great play by Mac. I was kind of shocked he was down there with me, but a great play and we got a goal out of it.”
The Lightning furthered the advantage just a few minutes later, this time with a Jake Guentzel top-shelf rip from the left hashmark. A Kucherov shot cleared the net, but the team’s leading scorer corralled the puck and fed a dish to an open Guentzel in the high slot for the 3-1 score.
The assist marked Kucherov’s 129th of the season, his second-highest single season total in the NHL (144 in 2023-24). It was also his 91st point at even strength this season to match a career high.
The Red Wings found a spark three minutes into the third period with a rebound goal from Marco Kasper, and a 2-on-0 rush chance ended with a DeBrincat goal to tie the game 3-3 with only a handful of minutes left in regulation. Montreal outshot the Lightning nine to two in the third period.
“Definitely not ideal. You're winning by two goals in the third period, they tie the game and we just kind of gave them those two goals,” Cernak said. “We just have to be better in those situations when we have a lead, and especially now in the playoffs.”
Kucherov earned a quality look in the dying seconds of regulation, but his shot just missed the Detroit net. He made up for it less than 30 seconds into overtime with the walk-off goal.
The overtime marker was his 44th of the season to tie his NHL career high.
“You need guys like that to show up for you when you really need it most. And I think he would love to have that shot back,” Cooper said of the third period chance. “That was labeled for him. I thought I heard post or a little bit of it, I wasn't sure, but a great play at the end.”
Kucherov’s goal and assist led the Lightning on offense, and nine different players finished with at least a point. Vasilevskiy finished with 27 saves.
Playoff bracket locks in first round matchup
Monday’s NHL results confirmed that the Lightning will face a divisional opponent in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tampa Bay is locked into a First Round series against the Montreal Canadiens, with home ice advantage yet to be sorted between the clubs that sit second and third in the division.
The Lightning went 2-2-0 against the Canadiens this season and will face the team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the Lightning won the 2021 Stanley Cup Final in five games.
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Game-winning goal, assist)
- Jake Guentzel, TBL (Goal)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (27-save win)
