TAMPA, Fla. — The second period has given the Lightning trouble at times this season, and on Sunday night, the middle 20 minutes of regulation sapped their momentum.
In their third meeting with New Jersey in six days, the Lightning scored the first two goals of the game, but after Alex Killorn scored at the 6:30 mark in the second, the Devils answered with a Jesper Bratt goal on the following shift, the first of three New Jersey goals in a six-minute stretch.
After Nico Hischier scored with 7:58 left in the second, the Lightning were shell-shocked. The Devils scored five straight goals to win after after Bratt’s empty-netter gave him a hat trick with 11.6 seconds to play.
