Steven Stamkos netted two goals and an assist in regulation, and Alex Killorn and Ross Colton scored in the shootout, lifting the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for Tampa Bay, which secured its second consecutive win over New Jersey following a victory on Tuesday night.
“I saw Ross go low blocker, so I figured I’d try the same,” Killorn said of his shootout winner.
Timo Meier scored twice in the third period, and Tomas Tatar also found the net for New Jersey. Akira Schmid made 21 saves in his 12th start of the season.
“I thought he gave us a strong game,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of his backup goalie.
Colton, a New Jersey native playing in his home state, opened the scoring just 1:09 into the game with his 16th goal of the season, giving the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
The Devils equalized midway through the second period, when Nico Hischier’s cross-ice pass set up Tatar for his 16th goal.
After successfully killing off a two-man advantage during a power play, Tampa Bay regained the lead at 18:11 of the second period with Stamkos’ 28th goal.
“It’s tough not capitalizing on the 5-on-3, and then they score, but we stuck with it,” Meier said. “We didn’t put our heads down. We kept going and gave ourselves a chance.”
Meier tied the game again midway through the third period with his 33rd goal of the season on a rebound.
Stamkos responded with another go-ahead goal at 15:13 of the third period, returning after missing the previous game with a leg injury.
“It was good for him to sit one out, just for his body and mind,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “He made some big plays tonight, but that’s what you need. It’s a hard league to score and win in, and he’s been scoring for a long time. We needed those goals tonight.”
The Devils tied it once more when Meier scored off a faceoff in Tampa Bay’s zone during a power play at 17:44 of the third period, forcing overtime.
“He’s just trying to fit in. Sometimes it takes 10 or 15 games to figure out who you can play with, and what fits,” Ruff said of Meier, recently acquired in a trade with San Jose. “We know he’s a great shooter. We’ve got to get the puck on his stick and in position to shoot. That’s his strength.”
UP NEXT
- Lightning: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
- Devils: Visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
