Lightning get club-record ninth straight win

TAMPA -- Alex Killorn scored with 42.5 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning their franchise-record ninth consecutive victory, 4-3 against the Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
Killorn raced down right wing, beat Hurricanes forward Joakim Nordstrom to the net and swept across the crease before lifting a shot over goalie Eddie Lack for his 13th goal of the season.

"I was trying to figure out how to make a play … just ended up skating up the ice," Killorn said. "They called me off [the ice], but I knew one of the guys who was a forward was playing defense so I just had to step on him and took it wide of the goalie."
Ondrej Palat scored twice and Tyler Johnson had the tying goal with 6:18 remaining in the third period for the Lightning (39-22-4), who are 7-1 in 3-on-3 overtime. Ben Bishop made 24 saves for Tampa Bay, which plays at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
The winning streak has carried Tampa Bay to the top of the Atlantic Division.

"It's hard enough to win in this League, let along run off nine in a row," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "This group has really stuck together. Whether it was a slow start or injuries, our goaltending kept us in for a long time and we started getting healthy. And we're starting to score some goals now."
Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask and Jordan Staal scored for Carolina (29-26-11).
"It's a hard-working group," Staal said. "I'm proud to be playing alongside them. We did a great job of finding a way to get a point, but obviously it's unfortunate to only get one."
Johnson tied the game 3-3 when he took a pass out from Nikita Kucherov and snapped it past Lack from the slot just in front of the crease for his 12th goal of the season. Kucherov made the play by chasing down his own rebound after his backhand shot hit Lack in the mask.

The "Triplets" line of Johnson, Palat and Kucherov combined for three goals and three assists.
"I think at the beginning of the year we were all battling different things and weren't necessarily in sync," Johnson said. "It took some time to get back in the groove of things. We're starting to hit our stride, starting to find each other and starting to play well."
The Lightning led 2-1 after two periods, but Carolina scored twice in a span of just over seven minutes to take the lead.
Staal tied the game 2-2 when he was credited with a power-play goal at 3:09. Elias Lindholm's shot from the right circle deflected off Staal's skate and hit Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman in the face before trickling into the net. Stralman stayed down for a couple of minutes but was able to continue.
"I thought we battled hard," Staal said. "It was a back-and-forth game, both teams were skating well ... 3-on-3, it was a great individual effort to get that goal."

Skinner scored his 23rd of the season at 10:18 to put Carolina ahead 3-2, converting a rebound after Bishop made a pad save on a shot from the bottom of the left circle by Phillip Di Giuseppe. The goal came shortly after the Hurricanes killed a four-minute penalty to Riley Nash, who high-sticked Palat.
Palat made a terrific individual effort to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 16:43 of the first period. He took the puck in the neutral zone, split Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce and Ron Hainsey and beat Lack with a high wrist shot.
"I made a move in the middle and then I just tried to shoot and it went in," Palat said. "There's still room for improvement. We wanted to get more offensive-zone time and when we did we made some plays."

Rask scored his 15th of the season at 13:24 of the second period to tie the game 1-1, finishing off a 3-on-2 rush with a wrist shot from between the circles that went off Bishop's blocker and into the net.
The Lightning took a 2-1 lead at 15:41 on Palat's 10th goal of the season. He picked up the puck behind the net and skated into the right circle before taking a wrist shot that bounced off Lack's shoulder and into the net.
Lack finished with 26 saves for Carolina, which is off until the Ottawa Senators come to PNC Arena on Tuesday.
"It was a good point against a good team on the road, so we'll take it," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "They are quick; their individual speed, their foot speed, their quickness put you in trouble."