Lightning rally past Blackhawks
TAMPA -- Down 2-0 in the second and trailing in the third, the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied back and won in overtime, getting a power-play goal from Brayden Point to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.
Chicago (10-8-3) had held the league's best power play in check through regulation, killing off five power plays, but Steven Stamkos fed Point for his ninth goal and the game-winner with 1:35 left in overtime.
Tampa Bay (16-2-2) had earned the 4-on-3 advantage on Nick Schmaltz's slashing penalty with 1:50 remaining and needed only 15 seconds to score the game-winner.
The Lightning defense gave up two goals and 13 shots in the opening period, then settled down, holding Chicago scoreless on a combined 16 shots in the next two periods to force overtime. A turnover got Nick Schmaltz one last shot with 15 seconds to go but Andrei Vasilevskiy made the save.
Tampa Bay tied the game in the first minute of the third period, as Chris Kunitz fired in a rebound off a Ryan Callahan shot to make it a 2-2 game with 19:29 remaining. It was Kunitz's third goal of the season, beating Chicago goalie Corey Crawford.
Chicago took the lead on its first shot of the game, as Kane fired a shot high on the glove side to beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who came in with an NHL-best 14 wins.
Tampa Bay had 5:15 straight in power play -- first a four-minute high-sticking penalty on John Hayden, overlapping with a Jonathan Toews hooking for 45 seconds of 5-on-3 play. But the NHL's top power play couldn't convert, and Chicago earned the same opportunity in the other direction.
Tampa Bay's Yanni Gourde was called for slashing, and 21 seconds later, Victor Hedman got a delay penalty for sending the puck over the glass. Chicago converted the extended 5-on-3, with Kane scoring his eighth goal of the season for a 2-0 lead.
The Lightning got back within a goal on a short-handed score, as Hedman stole the puck, dropped a pass to Ryan Callahan, who fed the puck to Ondrej Palat for his sixth goal of the season with 15:33 left in the second. It's the fourth short-handed goal for the Lightning this season and only the second allowed by Chicago.
Chicago's penalty-kill unit had a strong night, holding the NHL's leading power play to an 0-for-5 game.
NOTES: The Lightning saw C Cedric Paquette return to the ice after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury. D Slater Koekkoek was a healthy scratch and D Jake Dotchin did not dress due to an undisclosed injury. ... Chicago had C Tanner Kero, D Michal Kempny and D Jordan Oesterle as scratches. ... Chicago finishes a three-game road trip at the Florida Panthers on Saturday, while the Lightning go on the road for their next four, starting with the Washington Capitals on Friday to open a back-to-back with Pittsburgh next.