The first half of the NHL season didn’t provide the Tampa Bay Lightning with a lot of reasons to brag.
But, man, did the first half end with a bang.
The Lightning scored three times in the third period Friday night to come from behind and beat Edmonton, 5-4. All three Lightning goals were last touched by an Edmonton player. But for once, Tampa Bay’s stars led the way. Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos scored to lead the comeback, and goaltender Ben Bishop shut out the Oilers in the final period.
“We weren’t shooting the puck,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “We just weren’t attacking the net. In the third period, we attacked the net. Were they Picassos? No.”
The Lightning was staring trouble in the face. They trailed 2-0 after two periods, and they had won after trailing after two periods only once all year.
But Kucherov scored early in the third period when his shot went off of Edmonton’s Brandon Davidson.
Hedman, who had three points in the third period with a goal and two assists, tied the score with 5:10 left to play when his attempted pass went off Taylor Hall into the Net.
Sixty-one seconds later, Stamkos’ shot went off the skate of Darnell Nurse for the winning goal. It was his 18th goal of the season.
Tampa Bay plays at Vancouver tonight.
