Lightning rally late, beat Canadiens in OT as NHL returns
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ondrej Palat scored 36 seconds into overtime after Tampa Bay teammate Corey Perry tied it late in the third period, and the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Tuesday night in the first NHL game following an extended holiday break.
Perry got the equalizer with 19.7 seconds left in regulation and the Lightning net empty before Palat won it off a pass from Victor Hedman.
It was the first NHL game since Tampa Bay won 4-3 at Vegas on Dec. 21. Dozens of games were postponed over the past week-plus as the league turned a Christmas break scheduled to last three days into a six-day hiatus because of COVID-19 outbreaks and protocols.
Tampa Bay had six players and coach Jon Cooper unavailable in COVID-19 protocols. Montreal had nine players in protocols, including starting goalie Jake Allen.
Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde filled in for Cooper for the second consecutive game.
David Savard ended a 49-game goal drought to put the Canadiens up 4-3 with 6:51 left in the third. Kale Clague had tied it at 3 for Montreal earlier in the third on his first NHL goal.
Tampa Bay center Brayden Point had two goals and an assist in his return after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury.
The Lightning, who have a seven-game home winning streak and are 9-1-1 in their last 11 overall, also got a goal from Ross Colton. With goalies Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott both out, Maxime Lagace made 27 saves in his first NHL game since May 8, 2021, with Pittsburgh.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard got a goal in his NHL debut for the Canadiens, who have lost eight of nine (1-6-2). Lukas Vejdemo also scored, and Sam Montembeault turned aside 32 shots.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, KINGS 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and an assist in Vegas’ victory over Los Angeles.
Reilly Smith and Chandler Stephenson each added a goal and an assist as Vegas returned from the extended Christmas break to push its road winning streak to six games. Keegan Kolesar and Mattias Janmark also scored, and Laurent Brossoit made 24 saves.
Golden Knights assistant Steve Spott ran the bench, with head coach Peter DeBoer in virus protocol.
Jonathan Quick was pulled early in the second period after allowing five goals on 15 shots for the Kings, who had not played since Dec. 19 after their past three games were postponed because of the NHL’s ongoing issues with COVID-19.
Anze Kopitar passed Wayne Gretzky for second place in career assists with Los Angeles. Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore and Alex Iafallo scored for the Kings.
SHARKS 8, COYOTES 7, SO
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Tomas Hertl came out of COVID-19 protocols and delivered twice for San Jose in a shootout victory over Arizona.
Hertl scored his team-leading 15th goal and added a shootout goal for the Sharks, who played for the first time since Dec. 16.
Logan Couture had a goal and an assist and scored in the shootout, and Jeffrey Viel scored his first goal for San Jose, which had lost five of seven. James Reimer made 39 saves.
Nick Bonino, Radim Simek, Timo Meier and Alexander Barbanov also scored for the Sharks.
The Coyotes tied it at 7 late in regulation with a power-play goal from Andrew Ladd after pulling goalie Scott Wedgewood.
Lawson Crouse and Janis Moser each scored twice for the Coyotes, who hadn’t played since Dec. 17 and lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Crouse came out of COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day and Moser’s goals were the first two of his career.
Clayton Keller and Shayne Gostisbehere each added a goal for Arizona. Paul Kessel had four assists and Johan Larsson three.
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