The Lightning added two more points to their total on Sunday, hosting the Nashville Predators at Benchmark International Arena. The game was back and forth throughout, with both teams coming off back-to-back games and running on fumes amid a condensed schedule as the regular season winds down. It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the Lightning got it done.
After a scoreless first period, Joakim Kemell scored his first NHL goal in the second period, giving Nashville a 1-0 lead. Kemell was pushed from behind by Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, sending both him and the puck into the net with Jonas Johansson catching him. The call was eventually confirmed after a review.
The Lightning didn’t record their first shot on goal until 17-minutes in, and it stood as their only one in the first period. The team came out for the second with more pace to their game.
Jake Guentzel tied it up 1-1 after Darren Raddysh fired a shot toward the net that Gage Goncalves attempted to redirect. The puck kicked back out to Guentzel, who buried it past Justus Annunen.
"For some reason we haven't started on time for the last four or five (games)," Guentzel said. "But the push back and the belief in the group. We believe we're never out of it, and that's a good trait to have."
Brandon Hagel gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead at 4:33 of the third period, snapping a shot to the far post. The crowd erupted, but it didn’t last long, as Filip Forsberg quickly responded to tie it 2-2.
© Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesCorey Perry gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead at 6:52 of the third period, when Emil Lilleberg attempted to feed the puck to Guentzel for a redirection, but it slipped through Annunen’s pads, allowing Perry to jam it across the line.
The Lightning had to operate the power play without Nikita Kucherov, who missed his second consecutive game with an illness.
“You can't replicate him not being there, but at the same time, there's an opportunity for somebody else,” said Perry. “We didn't have the crispness that we'd want, but we found a way to get one after the power play again in that second period. It's just momentum. That's what we talk about all the time. You don't have to score every single time, but it's about momentum."
The Lightning have gotten off to a slow start in their last handful of games, something head coach Jon Cooper attributes to fatigue.
“I love them. They’re the best,” he said of his team. “They’re like my kids, and sometimes you have to reprimand them. But this group just has an innate ability to right the ship. Most nights they don’t need me; some nights they do, and I just think fatigue is playing a major part in this whole thing. You can feel it.”
The back-to-back wins moved Tampa Bay into first place in the Atlantic Division by point percentage at 46-21-6 (98 points), and into the top spot in the Eastern Conference overall.