The game ended with a bang.
About a minute and a half into overtime, Andrei Vasilevskiy made successive saves on the three Edmonton players on the ice: Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman, and Jack Roslovic. The Nurse shot was off the rush and from the left circle. The rebound came to the top of the crease, where Hyman forced a second shot on net. Vasilevskiy stopped the Hyman shot with his left pad, ending up sprawled on his stomach. The puck was loose near that pad, and Roslovic was in position to score the winning goal. But Vasilevskiy pulled his pad off the ice just as the puck would have gone over it and came up with an extraordinary, mind-boggling save that extended the game.
Not only did it extend the game, it fueled a counter-attack. Nikita Kucherov collected the puck and delivered an outlet to Darren Raddysh down the left wing. Jake Guentzel outraced Roslovic to the Edmonton end, received the pass from Raddysh, and finished an open chance past Calvin Pickard.
After the puck went in, all the Lightning players mobbed Vasilevskiy at the other end of the ice.
The two big plays in overtime helped the Lightning snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They needed one other big play in order to get the game to overtime. That one came from Nick Paul, who was making his season debut after missing the first 19 games due to offseason surgery. The Lightning had fallen behind when Trent Frederic finished a chance from the slot 92 seconds into the first period. It was still 1-0 with under three minutes left in the third period. On a neutral-zone regroup, J.J. Moser fed Paul on the right wing. Paul entered the offensive zone, cut to the inner part of the right circle, and roofed a shot over Pickard’s glove at 17:28 to tie the game.
The Paul goal was one of 14 third-period shots the Lightning fired on Pickard. It was their most dangerous offensive period of the game. They amped up their physical play, which helped them own most of the puck possession. They forced Pickard to make several difficult saves before Paul’s shot finally beat him.
But the two earlier periods were, in many ways, frustrating ones for the Lightning. They were outplayed for much of the first and struggled to gain traction to their game in the second. High marks go to the Oilers. Edmonton entered the game with the 29th-worst defensive numbers in the league and had gotten into Tampa very late after a game in Washington on Wednesday. But they delivered an outstanding defensive performance in the first 40 minutes. They pressured Lightning puck carriers all over the ice, effectively disrupting plays. They weren’t able to maintain that level into the third, however, when the Lightning outattempted them, 26-12.
The Lightning earned 14 points in their second 10-game segment, so they are currently on “playoff pace,” with 24 points after 20 games. They begin their third 10-game segment on Saturday in Washington.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. Highlight-reel save in overtime. 24 saves overall.
- Jake Guentzel — Lightning. GWG.
- Nick Paul — Lightning. Goal in season debut. 200th career point.
