Lightning sink Blackhawks with late push

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[November 22, 2019]    Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point and Cedric Paquette scored third-period goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning held on for a 4-2 win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.

Lightning center Alex Killorn (17) controls the puck against Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (50) during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Mikhail Sergachev also scored for Tampa Bay, which snapped a two-game skid.

Brent Seabrook and Dylan Strome scored for the Blackhawks. Chicago has lost back-to-back games after winning the previous four in a row.

Lightning goaltender Curtis McElhinney made 32 saves to improve to 3-1-2 on the season.

Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 31 shots but dropped to 4-5-2.

Tampa Bay broke a scoreless tie when it converted on the power play with 3:50 remaining in the first period.

Sergachev faked a shot from the blue line and instead slid a pass to Yanni Gourde near the top of the left circle. Gourde quickly returned a pass to Sergachev, who blasted a slap shot past Crawford for his first goal of the season.

Pat Maroon also picked up an assist on the play, which marked Tampa Bay's 17th power-play goal in 19 games. The Lightning entered the night with the second-best power play in the NHL, scoring on 29.6 percent of their opportunities.

Tampa Bay clung to a one-goal lead until midway through the third period, when Seabrook evened the score at 1-1. The veteran defenseman pinched in behind the net and banked a shot off McElhinney for his third goal of the season.

Seabrook's highlight-reel goal came on his bobblehead night at the United Center, where he has played since 2005.

Only 1:17 later, Tampa Bay responded to pull back in front 2-1. Victor Hedman fired a wrist shot from the high slot, and Cirelli tipped it in for his fourth goal of the season and his third in the past three games.

The Lightning made it 3-1 with 7:37 remaining in the third period. Point tipped in a feed from Ondrej Palat for his fifth goal.

Strome tallied his fifth goal to pull Chicago within 3-2 with 2:43 to go, but Paquette's empty-net goal padded the lead in the final minute.

--Field Level Media

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