EDMONTON – Victor Hedman scored a goal and added a pair of assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning came from behind to beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Friday.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos also scored for the Lightning (20-17-4), who had some puck luck on their side as all three of their goals deflected in off of an Edmonton skater.
Justin Schultz and Benoit Pouliot scored in response for the Oilers (17-22-3), who led 2-0 heading into the third period.
Edmonton got on the board first, scoring with 4:40 remaining in the opening period as Schultz brought the puck in from the blue line and was able to poke his own rebound past Lightning starter Ben Bishop.
Hedman kept it a 1-0 game heading into the second, absolutely robbing Leon Draisaitl with a sprawling save while Bishop was out of the net on the play with eight seconds to play in the first.
The Oilers took a two-goal lead on the power play four minutes into the second period when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put a shot on net that was tipped in by Pouliot.
The Lightning made it 2-1 three minutes into the third period as a Kucherov shot deflected off defender Brandon Davidson and past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot.
Edmonton allowed another own-goal with five minutes left as Taylor Hall inadvertently deflected a Hedman shot past Talbot to tie the game up.
A minute later, Tampa Bay scored its third goal off an Oilers player as a Stamkos shot hit the skate of defender Darnell Nurse and into the net to make it 3-2.
The Lightning are right back at it on Saturday, heading to Vancouver to face the Canucks. The Oilers close out their six-game homestand on Sunday against the Florida Panthers.
Notes: The two teams split last year’s series, each winning 3-2 on home ice. They will play each other again in a rematch on Jan. 19 in Tampa… The last time the Lightning won in Edmonton was on March 7, 2007… Forward Iiro Pakarinen returned to the Edmonton lineup after missing the last three games with a concussion… Remaining out for the Oilers were Connor McDavid (collarbone), Nail Yakupov (ankle), Oscar Klefbom (finger) and Andrew Ference (undisclosed)… The Lightning were without Joel Vermin (hand).
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