Lightning Rally Down Two Goals To Defeat Florida

Tampa – Ondrej Palat scored the game winner at 17:37 of the third period as the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Florida Panther 3-2.

Nikita Kucherov and Yanni Gourde added goals and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves as the Bolts improved to 7-1-1 over their last nine games at Amalie Arena.

The Bolts (32-26-9) have picked up a point in six of their last seven games (5-1-1) and in 13 of their last 15 (10-2-3). The win gives them the seasons series advantage over the Panthers (2-1-1).

Jaromir Jagr and Mark Pysyk each scored first period goals for the Panthers who lost their fifth in a row.

The two teams played with the desperation that one would come to expect from two team’s fighting for their playoff lives.

The Panthers held a 2-0 lead at the first intermission. The Lightning tied it up in the second period on a Nikita Kucherov power play goal and a short handed goal by Yanni Gourde. It was Gourde’s first NHL goal.

The game remained tied until the 17:37 mark when Ondrej Palat scored the game winner.

Lightning’s Playoff Picture:

Two out of three ain’t bad. The Bolts needed the win over the Panthers and they also received help from the St. Louis Blues who defeated the New York Islanders 4-3. The Toronto Maple Leafs got their two points by defeating the Carolina Hurricane’s 3-2 in overtime.

After tonight’s action the Lightning, Maple Leafs, and Islanders all have 15 games remaining. With their win in Carolina and the Islanders loss in St. Louis, the Maple Leafs move into the second wild card with 76 points. They are one point ahead of the Islanders (75) and three points ahead of the Lightning (73).

The Lightning do not have any remaining head-to-head matchups with the Islanders but do square off against the Maple Leafs twice. The first meeting is at home on Thursday, March 16th and the second is in Toronto on Thursday April 6th.

According to the web-site SportClubStats.com, the Lightning entered play on Saturday night with a 17.9-percent chance of making the postseason. With their win over Florida, the Maple Leafs win over the Hurricanes, and the Islanders loss to the Sharks the Bolts end the night with a 19.8-percent chance of making the playoffs.

Cooper On Victory:

Lightning Notes:

Nikita Kucherov scored a power play goal at the 3:43 of the second period. He has now registered a point in eight of his last nine games. In that time he has 18 points including 10-goals.

Kucherov’s goal was his 31st of the season which sets an career high for him in a season (30 in 2015-2016). It was also his 99th career goal, moving him into sole possession of eighth place, passing Chris Gratton (98), among the leading goal scorers in Lightning history.

Victor Hedman picked up an assist on Kucherov’s goal. He now has three goals and seven assists over his last seven games. He has also recorded points in ten of his last 12 games (6-goals/10-assists).

Gourde’s First Career NHL Goal:

On Thursday night Yanni Gourde registered his first NHL point as he picked up an assist on Nikita Kucherov’s empty net goal. On Saturday night against the Panthers he scored his first career goal, a shorthanded one, that tied the game at 2-2 at the 10:11 mark of the second period.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is 5-0-1 over his six starts. Tonight was just the second time in his last six games that he’s allowed more than one goal. He’s recorded 30-plus saves in five of his last six starts.

Ondrej Palat scored his second game winning goal of the season. It was also his 200th career NHL Point. “Arguably the best player on the ice.” Coach Cooper said. “He was a stud.”

Lightning Injury Notes:

The Lightning played without all three centers injured in Thursday’s contest with the Minnesota Wild. Vladislav Namestnikov, Tyler Johnson, and Cedric Paquette are all considered day to day with lower body injuries.

After the game Jon Cooper did not sound too optimistic about any of the three making the two game road trip with the team. He did leave the door open saying possibly one could but that “this is what we have right now and we’re rollin’ with it.”

Panther’s Notes:

Jaromir Jagr scored the games first goal. It was his 14th goal of the season and his 83rd career point (79 games). The goal ties him with Gordie Howe for points recorded after the age of 40 (267).

Former Lightning forward Jonathan Marchessault picked up an assist on Jagr’s goal giving him 40-points (20-goals) on the season.

Alexander Barkov picked up an assist on both Jagr’s and Mark Pysyk’s first period goals. Since returning from the Panthers lineup on February 3rd, he has 16 points (8-goals/8-assists) spanning 16 games.

Up Next For Lightning:

The Tampa Bay Lightning will head out on the road to take on the New York Rangers in the first of a two game back-to-back road trip. The back half of the road trip will see the Bolts take on the Ottawa Senators.