If you’re a hockey fan, a three-goal comeback was entertainment at its finest. If you’re a coach, it was the type of game that gives you a few extra gray hairs.
For 30 minutes, the Tampa Bay Lightning were the inferior team, looking a step slow, a day late, and a dollar short against the Chicago Blackhawks. However, in a span of 4:39 in the second period, everything changed. In overtime, Tampa Bay completed the comeback and as a result, their playoff hopes are alive and well.
Yanni Gourde scored his second goal of the season with 35 seconds remaining in 3-on-3 overtime to cap off the Lightning’s (37-29-9) wild, thrilling comeback from a 4-1 deficit to top the Blackhawks (48-21-7) 5-4 at Amalie Arena Monday night. The influx of Blackhawks fans in the building made it feel like the United Center early on, but the action on the ice made it feel like a playoff game throughout.
Gourde’s winning tally was the final cherry on top of a much-needed victory. The Lightning, courtesy of an overtime loss by Carolina against Detroit and a regulation loss by the NY Islanders against Nashville, moved one point ahead of the Isles and one point behind Boston for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining. Gourde collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and raced in the Chicago zone, snapping a shot past Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling and touching off a wild celebration among the Lightning faithful in the building.
Things didn’t exactly go as planned early on, however. Coming off an embarrassing 7-0 defeat to the Florida Panthers in Sunrise on Saturday night, the Blackhawks came out flying in this game. Artemi Panarin opened the scoring just 1:23 into the first period when he collected a return pass from Tanner Kero and rifled a shot from the left circle that Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy got a piece of, but managed to squeeze through and slide into the net for a 1-0 Chicago lead.
The Lightning briefly collected themselves and tied the game 1-1 on a power play goal by Ondrej Palat, who redirected Victor Hedman’s shot from the point into the net. Hedman and Nikita Kucherov earned the assists.
Chicago regained the lead 48 seconds later when Patrick Kane tallied his 34th of the season when he jumped into the play, took a pass from Niklas Hjalmarsson, and fired a shot past Vasilevskiy after being left alone. The Blackhawks extended the lead to 3-1 when Tomas Jurco notched his first goal of the year off a rebound in front with 6:19 left in the opening period. Vasilevskiy’s night seemingly ended with a resounding thud, as he was pulled for Peter Budaj, surrendering three goals on eight shots. Not only did Vasilevskiy appear overwhelmed early on, the team’s defensive breakdowns did him no favors.
Coming out of the dressing room down 3-1 to start the second period, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper surprised everyone in the building by putting Vasilevskiy back in the game.
Tampa Bay improved their effort considerably in the second period, but Chicago still found a way to go up 4-1 at the 8:47 mark. Former Lightning forward Richard Panik scored his 21st of the season when he followed up his own rebound and chipped the puck past Vasilevskiy, and the Blackhawks appeared to be in complete control once again.
Leave it to Jonathan Drouin to kick start the Lightning’s comeback effort.
The dynamic Lightning winger carried the puck from the nearside boards and skated into the slot before dishing it to Alex Killorn. Killorn promptly wristed the puck back in front, where Drouin redirected it past Darling for his 19th of the season to cut the Chicago lead to 4-2 with 8:15 left on the clock. Anton Stralman chopped the Hawks’ lead to one when Greg McKegg carried the puck into the Lightning zone and wrapped around Chicago’s net. McKegg dished the puck in front, where Stralman buried it for his fourth of the season just 1:02 after Drouin’s goal.
Tampa Bay ratcheted up the pressure and nearly tied it up when the third line of Gourde, Joel Vermin, and Adam Erne generated multiple quality chances on one shift. Although they didn’t score, that shift was indicative of the Lightning’s dominance over the final half of the second period.
Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson shot the puck out of play from his own end with 4:37 remaining in the middle period. As a result, Tampa Bay received a power play, where Drouin sent the Amalie Arena crowd into a frenzy. He collected a pass from Hedman and powered a slap shot past Darling to make it 4-4 for his second of the night and 20th of the season with 3:36 showing on the clock. In addition, Kucherov earned his second assist of the night and his 22nd point in March, giving him the team record for most points in a month.
The comeback was nearly complete. However, the Lightning weren’t out of the woods yet.
Chicago outshot the Lightning 10-3 in the final period of play, continually pressing for the go-ahead goal. However, the difference in the final 20 minutes was the play of Vasilevskiy.
The Lightning desperately needed timely saves from the 22-year-old, and he delivered. Kane slipped past the Lighting defense, breaking in alone with 12 minutes left. Shifting to his forehand, Kane looked poised to give Chicago the lead. Vasilevskiy stuck his right pad out and denied Kane the goal, preserving the tie and eventually setting the stage for overtime. He finished with 25 saves.
During the 3-on-3 overtime session, both teams had chances, most notably a sequence where a Vasilevskiy save on Artemi Panarin was followed up by Kucherov being denied by Darling, who finished with 25 saves on 30 shots. Tampa Bay continued to press as time wound down, leading to Gourde’s game-winner that completed the comeback. Hedman earned the lone assist on the game-winner, his third of the night and 50th of the season.
The Lightning return to action on Thursday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings in the fifth and final meeting between the division rivals this season. Puck drops at 7:30.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1st Star – Yanni Gourde: Tallied the first game-winning goal of his career, scoring with 35 seconds left in overtime.
2nd Star – Jonathan Drouin: Began the Lightning’s comeback with an even-strength goal before tying the game 4-4 with a power play goal.
3rd Star – Ondrej Palat: Scored the Lightning’s first goal of the night and also added an assist.
