Led by the Triplets, the Tampa Bay Lightning squeaked by the New Jersey Devils with a 4-3 overtime victory on Thursday night.
The victory, Tampa’s 49th of this 2014-15 season, leaves the group with a chance to hit 50 wins in a single season for the first time in franchise history; it also gives the guys a chance to eliminate the Boston Bruins from the playoff race, something nearly everyone in Bolts Nation wants to see.
Even with the win, the Lightning weren’t able to gain any ground on the Montreal Canadiens. That likely means the Bolts will face the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs, although things are still subject to change. Still, it was a nice ‘W’ to add at this point in the season.
While they did eventually secure that win, things didn’t always look so rosy. New Jersey got on the board at 5:06 of the first period with a power play goal that fooled everyone in the building. Steve Bernier fired home his 15th of the season right off a faceoff, and thus gave the Devils a 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take the Bolts long to respond, however, as Tyler Johnson scored his first of two on the night at 6:26 to tie things at one. His 28th of the season, assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, gave the Lightning the life they needed.
The tie was broken only moments later when Nikita Nesterov scored a power play goal to put the Lightning up by one. His second of the season, a bomb from the point, beat a screened Keith Kincaid. That gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead through one period of play.
Both Kinkaid and Ben Bishop held strong through the first half of the second period, but then the offense started flowing once again. The back-and-forth started with Patrik Elias’s 13th of the season, and continued with Steven Stamkos’s 43rd.
The captain’s goal, assisted by Palat and Victor Hedman, was a power play missile from the Stamkos circle. Hedman’s assist highlighted a triumphant return to the lineup for him, in which he was his usually dominant self. He missed over a week with an injury, and yet it didn't look as though he missed a single beat.
That Stamkos goal briefly restored the Lightning’s lead, but the Devils responded only seconds later when Bernier scored his second of the evening with only two minutes left in the middle frame. The game was tied heading into the third.
After back-to-back three-goal periods, it was a little bit surprising to see things settle down in the third. Bishop had to stay sharp, as the Devils fired 11 shots in his direction; Kinkaid made the seven stops he needed to make. That meant the game needed overtime.
Only 1:22 into the extra frame, Johnson scored his second of the night to end the game. The power play goal, assisted by Kucherov and Palat, was his 29th of the season and it really summed up what was a great night for the Triplets. How dominant have they been this year? I don't think it's unfair to suggest that they've formed one of the best lines in hockey.
Considering how weak it’s been all year, the fact that Tampa’s man-advantage unit was able to pot three goals on Thursday was nothing short of a miracle. Maybe it will give the group some confidence moving into the postseason, where the power play will undoubtedly play a factor in any potential success. We'll just have to wait and see.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.