Brayden Point returned to Tampa Bay’s lineup and scored 3:58 into overtime as the Lightning won their third straight game by rallying past the host Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Point, who missed the previous four matches with a lower-body injury, found a loose puck after Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (32 saves) ventured out of his crease. The center then tucked in his second goal of the night and 10th this season to lift the Lightning to a 5-0-1 mark against the Metropolitan Division.
Anthony Cirelli scored his fifth goal this season, Darren Raddysh had two assists and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots for Tampa Bay, which trailed 2-0 before Point’s first goal 5:41 into the third period.
Pittsburgh’s Jesse Puljujarvi scored for the second straight game and Rickard Rakell netted his seventh goal this season.
Sidney Crosby dished out the primary assist on Rakell’s second-period power-play tally that made it 2-0 and gave Crosby his 1,017th career helper. The 37-year-old captain and two-time playoff MVP passed Joe Sakic for 13th on the NHL’s all-time assist list.
Pittsburgh’s special teams and its play in front of Jarry proved beneficial in a first period that saw the hosts go up 1-0 at 12:05.
After the Penguins killed off Bryan Rust’s slashing penalty on Nikita Kucherov, their third line used a hard check by Puljujarvi to force a turnover, reverse the puck and get it on Marcus Pettersson’s stick. The defenseman then slid a long diagonal pass that left winger Puljujarvi tapped in at the far post for his third goal this season.
The Penguins stymied all three Lightning power plays and doubled up the visitors in blocked shots (22-11).
Two minutes into the second, Crosby had an open one-timer – potentially career goal No. 600 – but rang the blast off the post. He later set up Rakell’s tally at 13:05 on the club’s first power play after Luke Glendening’s interference penalty.
In the third, Point skated around Jarry and roofed a backhander to put the Lightning on the board. Defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Raddysh earned assists.
Cirelli tied it 2-2 seven minutes later on assists from Victor Hedman and Raddysh to force the overtime session.
Janis Moser and Conor Geekie assisted on Point’s winner.
