The Tampa Bay Lightning got a strong outing from Andrei Vasilevskiy, but for the second time on the road trip, Tyler Johnson took a penalty in overtime, leading to a power play goal by Jonathan Marchessault that broke a 1-1 tie, giving the Florida Panthers a 2-1 overtime win over the Lightning in Sunrise.
Both first period goals came on the same penalty, a high-stick by Alex Petrovic at the 9:45 mark. The Lightning let their defense lapse, and Florida capitalized, as Jussi Jokinen capped a 3-on-2 shorthanded breakaway with his fifth goal of the year.
Tampa Bay did not give up on the advantage, though, and just before the penalty ended, Nikita Kucherov notched his 19th goal of the season to tie the game back up at one goal apiece.
Neither team could break the tie in the middle period, though both sides had plenty of opportunities. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all ten shots on net, while Florida's James Reimer made 12 saves in the period.
The same could be said in the third, as both Vasilevskiy and Reimer continued their stellar play. Each netminder turned away 12 shots on goal in the final period of regulation.
However, Johnson was assesed an interference penalty in the first minute of the 3-on-3 period, and less than a minute later, Marchessault buried a cross-ice pass from Keith Yandle to bury his 14th goal of the year past Vasilevskiy to end the game.
Tampa Bay finishes their six-game road trip with a record of 2-2-2.
The Lightning will now rest up during the All-Star break before welcoming the Boston Bruins to Amalie Arena Tuesday. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30, and can be heard on 970 WFLA.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
- FLA: SH GOAL - Jussi Jokinen (5). ASSISTS - Trocheck, Yandle. TIME - 9:55
- TBL: PP GOAL - Nikita Kucherov (19). ASSISTS - Drouin, Killorn. TIME - 11:33
2nd Period
NONE
3rd Period
NONE
Overtime
- FLA: PP GOAL - Jonathan Marchessault (14). ASSISTS - Yandle, Jokinen. TIME - 1:49