Point Scores In OT, Lightning Beat Panthers 5-4
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Point scored 2:49 into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 5-4 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Point scored his third overtime goal of the season.
Yanni Gourde scored twice and finished with three points for the Lightning, who reached overtime for the sixth consecutive game. J.T. Miller added his 15th of the season, second with the Lightning.
Nick Bjugstad recorded his first career hat trick and Aleksander Barkov finished with three assists for the Panthers.
Florida erased a two-goal deficit to start the third on goals from Bjugstad, which came on the opening shift of the period, and a power-play goal by Vincent Trocheck at 5:25.
Tampa Bay grabbed a quick two-goal lead on Gourde's first of the night at 10:38 followed by Miller's second in two games, off a feed from Gourde behind the net, at 12:51.
Bjugstad cut the Florida deficit in half with a bad-angle goal at 18:23 of the first period.
Gourde tied the single-season franchise rookie record with his 24th of the season, matching Tyler Johnson, as he wheeled from behind the net to the top of the right circle to beat Roberto Luongo with a wrist shot 1:27 in to the second period.
Bjugstad again brought the Panthers within a goal at 13:35 but the Lightning again answered that as Alex Killorn swooped in for a rebound of Steven Stamkos' shot at 16:07.
NOTES: Tampa Bay assigned G Peter Budaj to Syracuse of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment. Budaj has not played since suffering a lower-body injury on Dec. 29. . Lightning D Ryan McDonagh, acquired from the New York Rangers at the trade deadline, is expected to miss another week with an undisclosed upper-body injury. . Florida placed forward Frank Vatrano, acquired from Boston at the trade deadline, on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. . Tampa Bay LW Ondrej Palat (lower body) joined the team for practice on Tuesday for the first time since Jan. 20, but his return to the lineup is still undetermined. . The teams combined for 39 goals in the four meetings this season.
UP NEXT
Lightning: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday.
Panthers: Host Montreal on Thursday.
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