The Tampa Bay Lightning scored four goals in the third period to knock off the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 Saturday afternoon.
“Overall, I thought the first two periods we played very well,” Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “In the third period, I didn’t like how we handled having the lead. Their forwards getting behind our defence men and our forwards not protecting the middle of the ice as well as we should have.”
The Oilers, who were riding a three-game winning streak, came out strong in the first period, firing 19 shots on the Lightning net. Derek Ryan opened the scoring while shorthanded 3:39 into the game. He had his stick tied up after getting in behind the defence but Tampa goalie Jonas Johansson was befuddled by the slow-moving puck. James Hamblin sniped his first NHL goal five minutes later. Hamblin pointed skyward after the goal in memory of his mother who passed away from cancer in 2017.
“Its a rush of emotions when it first happens,” Hamblin said. “The first thought for me was to my mom and that was the reason for the point to the sky. I have had that waiting for a long time and it was awesome to finally get that.”
The Lightning got a bounce on the power play in the final minute of the first. Nikita Kucherov’s pass ticked off Mattias Ekholm’s stick and eluded Stuart Skinner.
Kucherov made it 2-2 with the teams playing four-on-four in the second. Ryan powered in his second of the game after Warren Foegele drove the net to put the Oilers up 3-2 after two.
Tanner Jeannot’s one-timer evened it up again four minutes into the third. Evan Bouchard fired in a wrister to restore the Oilers lead during another session of four-on-four. However, the Lightning came back with two goals in 39 seconds. Steven Stamkos finished off a pretty power play passing play, then Luke Glendening deflected a pass behind Skinner.
The Oilers went on the power play with 5:07 left but didn’t get a good scoring chance. Mikhail Sergachev sealed the game with a length-of-the-ice empty netter.
Johnasson finished with 39 saves. Skinner made 18.
Tampa Bay was 2/4 on the power play while the Oilers were 0/5.
The Oilers, 5-10-1, will visit the Florida Panthers on Monday (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 3:30 p.m., game at 5 p.m.).