TAMPA, Fla. — A physical game wasn’t something the Lightning could shrug off in their final home contest before All-Star weekend Tuesday against the Sharks. And they matched San Jose’s intensity in a 3-2 overtime win.
Thanks to Victor Hedman’s goal with 2:15 remaining in the extra period, Tampa Bay has won both regular-season contests against the Sharks this season, including a 7-1 win Jan. 22 in San Jose.
After a scoreless first period, scoring picked up with three second-period goals, including two by the Lightning.
Anthony Cirelli opened the scoring 1:32 into the period on a pass from Brayden Point for his 13th goal of the season. But 3:18 later, San Jose’s Rudolfs Balcers evened the score on a redirect of a Marc-Édouard Vlasic shot.
Sharks forward Logan Couture was called for hooking later in the period, putting the Lightning on the power-play. It was the break Tampa Bay needed, as Alex Killorn scored his third power-play goal of the season (and second against the Sharks) to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead with 1:52 remaining in the period.
Tempers flared after Sharks forward Timo Meier raced toward Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy as time ticked down in the period. Meier made a hard cut across the ice, tripping defenseman Ryan McDonagh before crashing into Vasilevskiy.
Cirelli found Meier in the corner, starting a scrum between the teams. Officials gave Cirelli a roughing penalty, while Meier was called for roughing and goaltender interference.
A Steven Stamkos tripping penalty gave San Jose a power play 31 seconds into the third period, and Logan Couture took advantage 41 seconds later to tie the game at 2, eventually sending it into overtime.
