TAMPA, Fla. — Fighting off a four-minute penalty late in the second period, Mathieu Joseph forced a turnover in the neutral zone before racing down the ice Thursday night against the Devils.
He took a quick survey and saw Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to his left, but his Lightning teammate wasn’t open for a pass.
Instead, Joseph took a shot at New Jersey goaltender Jon Gillies. And while his initial attempt was blocked, he quickly grabbed the rebound and flipped it over Gillies’ pad for a 2-1 lead and his second shorthanded goal of the season en route to a 3-2 win in the opener of a three-game homestand.
