CHICAGO — The Lightning entered the first intermission Sunday night lucky to be trailing the Blackhawks by just one goal. They easily could have been down four or five at that point.
So the fact they left Chicago with a 6-3 win offered yet another example of how Tampa Bay can grab two points on some of its most uneven nights.
The Lightning scored three goals in the second period, including defenseman Cal Foote’s first of the season, then scored on three straight shots over a 32-second stretch of the third — the fastest three goals in team history.
Tampa Bay has had its share of slow starts this season, and it opened a six-game road trip by coming out of the gate at the United Center sluggish and sloppy. Dylan Strome’s goal less than eight minutes into the game put Chicago ahead, and the Lightning committed numerous turnovers, several leading to odd-man rushes.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy robbed Kirby Dach, turning away a wide-open one-timer with the shaft of his stick, then stopped Dach on a breakaway with a poke check as Dach closed on the net. The Blackhawks also hit the post three times in the period, and the Lightning couldn’t establish any offense.
But once Tampa Bay went into attack mode, it seemed to find its game offensively.
Taylor Raddysh made a back-handed swipe of a puck that landed on his stick following Foote’s blocked shot, tying the game 69 seconds into the second period.
After Patrick Kane’s wrister from the slot beat Vasilevskiy in the top corner gloveside, Victor Hedman responded with a rocket from the top of the circles just as Alex DeBrincat was exiting the penalty box at the end of a Lightning power play with 4:43 left in the period.
The Lightning took their first lead quickly after that, as Foote had an open shot along the left post gift-wrapped on a pass from Anthony Cirelli in front of the net.
Tampa Bay then came out with a flurry in the third.
Hedman’s second goal beat Fleury five-hole. Corey Perry scored on a Chicago turnover in the Blackhawks zone, a goal that sailed into the back of the net just above Fleury’s glove and prompted the goaltender to slam his stick against the post. Mikhail Sergachev put the Lightning up 6-2 with a shot from the left blue line off Ross Colton’s faceoff win, his second goal in as many games.
Vasilevskiy wasn’t done. After DeBrincat’s deflection in front of the net later in the period made it 6-3, Vasilevskiy made a remarkable glove save on Kane, closing off an open far post that could have made it a two-goal game with 9:24 left.
