The Tampa Bay Lightning capped a four-game road trip with a pair of late comeback efforts on Friday and Saturday, earning one standings point in the process.

Tampa Bay forced overtime with a big third period on Friday in Detroit. The Lightning overcame another early deficit on Saturday, but the Columbus Blue Jackets had a response of their own to take a 3-2 regulation win.

Saturday marked the first game of the trip that didn’t end with any standings points, capping a 1-1-2 run since Monday for Tampa Bay. The Lightning are now 1-3-2 this season.

“It’s tough. We’re on a four-game road trip with multiple back to backs. We’ve gotten points in all the games and we thought a good third, we get a point out of this. It was unfortunate,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of the trip after Saturday’s game. “Just bad kind of details on our track and it’s in the net. The guys pushed for one, but we couldn’t find the back of the net like we did last night. Kind of a tough start to the season for us, especially on the road to have these multiple back-to-backs, now we’ve just got to regroup when we go home.”

They return to Benchmark International Arena and open a three-game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks this Thursday at 6:45 p.m.

Powerful third period earns OT point in Detroit

Through 40 minutes of Friday’s Atlantic Division clash with the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena, shots on goal were hard to find for the Lightning.

That wasn’t at all the case in the third period–Tampa Bay outshot Detroit 19-6, earning the game-tying goal late to claw out a standings point in a 2-1 overtime loss.

The home team held a 22-11 advantage in shots and a 1-0 lead thanks to a first-period goal, but defenseman JJ Moser and the Lightning took matters into their own hands in the third period.

Tampa Bay dominated play in the third, tying the game with 3:43 remaining despite missing the NHL’s defending back-to-back scoring champion in forward Nikita Kucherov due to illness.

“It was turning the game faster,” Moser said of what changed. “We were playing a little bit slow at the start, and then we were trying to play faster, we were playing more in the offensive zone. We got more momentum and I think it was a pretty good effort in the second half of the game.”

The Red Wings took the game’s opening nine shots on goal before starting the scoring 13 minutes, two seconds into the game. Rookie defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka let his shot fly from the top of the offensive zone, and the puck took a bounce before finding the back of the net for his first NHL goal.

It was the lone goal of the first period that ended with Detroit ahead 12 to six in shots on goal.

Lightning captain Victor Hedman noted that shot attempts in the first period were tight despite shots on goal not being as close. After some adjustments, the Lightning pushed back.

“We got a point,” Hedman said postgame. “Would’ve loved two, but at the end of the day we keep taking points on the road and we’ve got to do the same tomorrow.”

Moser evened the score for Tampa Bay with 3:43 left in regulation. Moser’s first goal of the season came on a one-timer from the top of the zone to break the seal on Detroit goalie John Gibson, who couldn’t see through a netfront screen.

“We were trying to shoot all night long or at least the second half, and then you just keep shooting and then one shot finds the way through seven bodies and that’s how it goes in,” Moser said of the goal postgame.

Both Hedman and Cooper said the third period was more in-tune with the way the Lightning aim to play.

“We played with urgency. We were on top of them…We got shots through and created chaos in there, so that was a good sign. A lot more like we want to play, and obviously we were playing against a team that is off to a really good start. So we knew it was going to be a tough test for us, but overall I think we did a good job, especially in the third.”

The Red Wings got the winning goal on an overtime breakaway from captain Dylan Larkin to seal the 2-1 win shortly after a good chance for Tampa Bay at the Detroit net.

Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with a season-high 29 saves in net, while forward Conor Geekie and Hedman assisted on Moser’s goal. Gibson ended with 31 saves on 32 Lightning shots.

“That first period we were climbing a hill, we were totally fine. A couple turnovers though and then it put us on our heels. I think our power play was definitely out of sync, so we weren’t getting life out of that. But I just felt good about our game well into the second period, and the third period we played with a lot of moxie, everybody commanded the puck,” Cooper said.

“They were giving hits, taking hits, but it was all for the purpose of playing the right way and we did. We most definitely deserved a point out of the game. It’s too bad we didn’t get two, but that’s overtime. One sick chance at one end turns into an even better chance at the other and that’s a really, really good player going in on a breakaway, so that was unfortunate for us.”

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

Dylan Larkin, DET (OT goal)
John Gibson, DET (31 saves)
JJ Moser, TBL (Goal)

Columbus comes back to take Saturday’s game

Tampa Bay pushed and pushed in the final minutes of Saturday’s game at Nationwide Arena at 6-on-5, earning numerous looks and chances to tie a 3-2 game.

That tying goal never came despite a valiant effort, and Columbus held on for a win to close the road back-to-back for Tampa Bay.

“The season’s early. The boys, they’re working. But it’s tough. You’re going to catch teams on back to backs, and some teams are going to catch you on back to backs,” Cooper said. “We put ourselves in a position to win. Like I said, details to win in our game were missing in the third period, and it cost us. And so, it’s a tough league to win in, and a little slip up here, they’re going to catch you. This one caught us tonight.”

Columbus was the first team on the scoreboard, as Kent Johnson scored the 1-0 goal 4:58 into the game–a bouncing puck in front of Tampa Bay’s net slipped through a defender’s legs and found the stick of Johnson, who snuck a backhand shot past the left post for the opening goal.

The visiting Lightning didn’t waver, scoring two straight goals to steal a 2-1 lead entering the first intermission.

Tampa Bay tied the game with defenseman Ryan McDonagh’s second goal of the season. Forward Pontus Holmberg skated the puck out of the Lightning zone and left it for McDonagh in the neutral zone, where the latter took over and then roofed a shot through the glove of Columbus goalie Jet Greaves with 7:18 remaining in the opening period.

The visitors then claimed their 2-1 lead on the power-play, this goal coming via Anthony Cirelli’s backhanded shot on a rebound. Jake Guentzel and Victor Hedman earned the assists.

Columbus appeared to tie the game 2-2 with 11 minutes remaining in the second period, but the goal was nullified after a successful coaches’ challenge by Tampa Bay showed the play was offside.

The Blue Jackets wound up tying the game on Damon Severson’s one-timed shot from the high slot. Coming 13:59 into the middle frame, the score wound up being the lone goal of the second period.

Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson was once again busy throughout his second start of the season, finishing with 28 saves. He made two sprawling pad saves in the closing minutes of the second period to keep the game tied.

Columbus outshot the Lightning 31-19 in the loss. Producing more shots on goal is one area the team hopes to improve, forward Oliver Bjorkstrand said postgame.

“I think it’s just a mentality. When you get the puck in the zone, just finding a little bit different spots in the ice where you can get traffic, bodies to the net and then the guy who has the puck just kind of has to have a shooting mentality,” he said.

The Blue Jackets scored the eventual game-winner with Kirill Marchenko’s snap shot from the right faceoff circle on the rush.

Tampa Bay had multiple looks at 6-on-5 hockey in the dying minutes of the game with their own net empty, but Greaves held on for the win.

“I think we had spurts there where we were really playing on all cylinders, putting the pressure on them. We get the lead there and then we take our foot off the gas and allow them to pretty much hem us in an entire period there, and it’s tough to rebuild there, respond like that,” McDonagh said. “We’ve got urgency when we’re down, we need to have that urgency when we’re up in games too and just continue to get closer to playing a 60-minute game.”

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

Kirill Marchenko, CBJ (Game-winning goal)
Jonas Johansson, TBL (28 saves)
Mathieu Olivier, CBJ (Assist)