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 The speedy left winger finished a three-on-one break with center
Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman by firing the puck by
goalie Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec just 36 seconds into a brief
but wildly entertaining three-on-three overtime session to hand the
Lightning a 4-3 win over the Jets.
It was the second goal of the season for the 24-year-old Czech-born
forward.
"Stammer made a nice defensive play on the other end and we went on
a three-on-one and Heddy and Stammer made really nice passes and I
just tapped it in," Palat said.
The Lightning trio botched an early rush and Jets center Bryan
Little dashed away on a breakaway, only to be stopped cold on a pad
save by Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop. Hedman, Stamkos and Palat
stormed back and orchestrated a beauty to give the Lightning two
points in the standings.
The Lightning raised their record to 5-2-1. The Jets picked up one
point with the overtime loss and moved to 4-2-1.
Palat was thrilled he got the nod from coach Jon Cooper to begin
overtime.
"Coach told me to go with Stammer and I'm just happy to score the
goal," he said. "We had speed and that's what you have to do on
three-on-three."
Jets right winger Blake Wheeler had an unassisted, short-handed goal
early in the third period to tie the score 3-3. With Jets defenseman
Toby Enstrom in the penalty box for holding a stick, Wheeler raced
down the ice and behind the Tampa Bay net, stripped the puck from
Bishop, spun in front and fired into the open cage just 77 seconds
into the period.
"It was a bad break for us," said Hedman, who finished with two
assists. "Bishop fanned on it a little bit and we told each other
that we were going to get it back. Bish has bailed us out many times
over the years, so it was our turn."
Right winger Nikolaj Ehlers scored his second goal of the season for
Winnipeg and right winger Drew Stafford produced his third.
Ehlers hit the post on a breakaway with just seven seconds left in
regulation and the game went to overtime.
"Oh my God, that was obviously a bad read. I didn't see him at all.
He's a good, little player," said Hedman, who got burned on the
play. "It's the first time I've seen him play. Great speed and
obviously he scored a goal. He's going to be a good player in this
league and obviously you pay more attention to him."
Defenseman Braydon Coburn and center Cedric Paquette each scored
their first goals of the season for the Lightning.
Center Vladislav Namestnikov gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead midway
through the second period with his third goal of the year.
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Pavelec stopped 27 shots and Bishop, who has started all eight games
this season, had 33 saves.
The Jets hadn't played since Sunday but came out of the gate
attacking one of the Eastern Conference's top squads.
"Tough game, tough game," Pavelec said. "We haven't played for a
long time, but I think we had a really good first period. We slowed
down in the second. There was scoring chances on both sides. You
know, it was fun to play. We got one point, we take it and we move
on."
Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said Wheeler's play to produce the tying
goal -- and his ninth point of the season -- demonstrates how far
his game has come.
"I think he's just a real mature, high-end pro now," Maurice said.
"He just plays that way every single night.
"When you get a guy that's just that darn fast, he is so explosive
out of the hole -- his goal tonight, there's not too many guys in
the league that can cover that much ice in that short a period of
time."
NOTES: Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos suited up in his 500th NHL game
Friday. Just 11 days ago, he registered his 500th point, a
power-play goal against Boston. ... Winnipeg LW and captain Andrew
Ladd is just two games shy of 700 career games. ... Lightning
associate coach Rick Bowness is a former Jets player (1980-81) and
Winnipeg assistant coach (1984-1987). ... Winnipeg second-year C
Adam Lowry set a career high with nine hits Sunday against St.
Louis. Lowry led the team during his rookie season with 256 hits,
which ranked 12th in the NHL. ... Lightning C Brian Boyle didn't
feel well at the morning skate and was a late scratch. D Nikita
Nesterov was a healthy scratch. ... D Adam Pardy, D Paul Postma and
RW Anthony Peluso, all healthy, sat for Winnipeg.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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