Palat plays hero again for Lightning in Game 5, extends Cup Final

DENVER --Ondrej Palat is nicknamed "Sneaky P" by his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates for his ability to catch the opposition off guard in big moments.

Fans of the Colorado Avalanche had far less complimentary names after the forward spoiled their potential party in the Lightning's 3-2 win in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena on Friday.
With the capacity crowd going bonkers after Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar tied it 2-2 at 2:31 of the third period, the momentum shifted in Colorado's favor. The Cup was in the building and the Avalanche, up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series, needed another goal to take a step towards hoisting it.
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Sneaky P wouldn't let that happen. His goal with 6:22 remaining sucked the life out of the building and narrowed Colorado's lead in the series to 3-2. Tampa Bay will have a chance to even the series in Game 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Sunday (8 p.m. ET: ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"We were pretty comfortable on the bench," Palat said when asked how the Lightning kept their composure when the Avalanche tied the game. "We're just saying, 'Keep rolling and go hard on the forecheck and don't back off,' and we did it.
"We had a great shift and we scored on that."
Of course he did. It's what Palat does. Big moments in big games are his forte.
The goal was the 12th game-winner of his Stanley Cup Playoff career. Joe Pavelski of the Dallas Stars (14) and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins (13) are the only active players with more.
"Listen, obviously he's scored a lot of big goals in his time in the playoffs," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "It's pretty remarkable."

The forward said teammates joke with Palat about how he always seems to find a way to be the hero.
"Sneaky P found a way to put one in there," Stamkos said, breaking into a wide grin. "It was obviously a huge goal for us. We extend the season. That's what we wanted to do.
"We talked about one game at a time and it was a grind, but we found a way. Great effort. We've got to do it again."
They'll get their chance on home ice Sunday. And you can bet Pavel and Hana, Palat's parents, will be watching again in the eastern Czech town of Frydek-Mistek.
When Hana and her husband wake up at 1 a.m. local time to watch each game live on NHL.TV, she puts the "buchty," a traditional Czech sweet bun stuffed with poppy or cheese with raisins, in the oven. They come out during the second intermission, and the feast is on.
It's a good bet they tasted even sweeter in Game 5 when their son scored the go-ahead goal in the third period. And there were plenty of friends and family to enjoy them, Palat said.
"My parents just texted me, there was like 80 people there, so it was 2 o'clock in the morning," he said. "So, it's nice to feel all the support from back home, even when the game is pretty late. It just feels great."

For Palat and his family. For his Lightning teammates and their fans. And for coach Jon Cooper, who said he loves that Palat is getting some much-deserved notoriety.
Cooper was coaching Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2011, when Palat first began his professional career. Each started the 2012-13 season with Syracuse of the AHL. But when Cooper took over as Lightning coach later that season, Palat found himself in Tampa Bay too.
"I can't say enough about the kid," Cooper said. "He doesn't know any better because I'm the only pro coach he's ever had. Obviously when you have a player that's played for you this long, he's pretty dear to me and I'm so glad he's getting everything, you know, the attention he's getting right now."