Alex Killorn beats OT horn as Lightning top Blackhawks

[March 05, 2021]  Alex Killorn beat the overtime buzzer by a fraction of a second and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning earned their sixth straight victory, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay scored three unanswered goals to end the game, erasing a 2-0 deficit after two periods. Killorn delivered the game-winner after weaving to the top of the slot, turning and shooting in the nick of time.

The teams traded near-misses in the first two minutes of overtime, with Chicago's Alex DeBrincat hitting the post moments before Mikhail Sergachev did the same for Tampa Bay.

Ryan Carpenter and DeBrincat scored second-period goals, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 31 shots to help the Blackhawks stay afloat.

Hustle paid dividends on the game's first goal, as Brandon Hagel chased down a Lightning clear on a Blackhawks penalty kill. Hagel collected the puck and fired a quick shot at Vasilevskiy, who stopped the puck but lost track of it as the puck deflected in the air.

Hagel got his own rebound and found Carpenter, who buried Chicago's second shorthanded goal of the season at 7:24 of the second period. The goal ended Vasilevskiy's club-record shutout streak at 228:09.

The Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead at 14:04 of the second, as DeBrincat scored on a deflection of a Patrick Kane shot. Connor Murphy had the secondary assist on the goal, which extended DeBrincat's points streak to seven games.

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save against Chicago Blackhawks center Carl Soderberg (34) during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Kane, meanwhile, has collected at least one point in 18 of the Blackhawks' 24 games.

Limited to 17 shots while being shut out for the first two periods, the Lightning tied the score with goals on two of their first three shots just 2:55 into the third.

Anthony Cirelli struck first, collecting a shorthanded goal on a redirect of a long shot by Jan Rutta. Steven Stamkos evened the score with his 14th goal in 19 games against the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks went 0-for-2 on the power play.

Chicago fell to 0-3 against Tampa Bay this season. The teams opened the season with a pair of games in Tampa, as the Lightning earned victories of 5-1 and 5-2 behind Vasilevskiy.

The Blackhawks will host the Lightning on Friday and Sunday.

--Field Level Media
 

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