Good Gourde, Lightning pull off rare rally to keep playoff hopes alive

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
March 27, 2017

TAMPA, Fla. – Good Gourde, they did it again.

The never-say-die Tampa Bay Lightning, which have been knocked to the canvas more times this season than Rocky Balboa, once again climbed to their skates to stay in the fight and keep their playoff drive alive.

”Something new is giving us a left hook here and an uppercut here, but the guys won’t go down,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said.

Yanni Gourde scored his second career goal, converting a partial breakaway with 45 seconds left in overtime to complete Tampa Bay’s comeback effort against the Chicago Blackhawks for a 5-4 victory on Monday.

After falling behind 4-1 in the second period, the Lightning came roaring back to tie the game with three goals in a span of five minutes to tie the game. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the first time the Lightning have overcome a three-goal deficit to win a game since Nov. 6, 2011, against the Florida Panthers.

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With the victory Tampa Bay moved past the New York Islanders – who lost to the Nashville Predators on Monday, and to within a point of the Boston Bruins for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning are also two points behind Toronto for the No. 3 spot in the Atlantic Division standings.

The events of Monday now ensure that Tampa Bay, with seven games left on the schedule, control their own fate to make the playoffs.

Monday’s game against Chicago summed up the Lightning season in to a 65-minute nutshell – look out of sorts, get pushed to the brink but don’t fall off only to climb back from the edge ready to keep charging ahead.

Resiliency may not be a strong enough word to describe Tampa Bay’s recent play.

”This group, the past years, has been a resilient group, but we’ve never really been in this position, I don’t know if we’ve ever had our back against the wall like we have this year for this long,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ve had to grind our way through.’’

Yet, with seven games left to play, the Lightning still have a chance to reach the postseason despite everything that has worked against them this season, which started back in November when Steven Stamkos was lost to a torn meniscus in his right knee that required surgery.

Dealing with inconsistent play through most of the season saw Tampa Bay fall to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings in January while general manager Steve Yzerman turned in to the biggest trade deadline seller, moving Ben Bishop, Brian Boyle and Valtteri Filppula ahead of the deadline.

Then on March 9 in a game against Minnesota, Tampa Bay lost three centers in one game to injury – Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette – with Namestnikov the only one of the three who has returned to the lineup.

The latest setback came Thursday in Boston when defenseman Jason Garrison was lost to a lower body injury and has missed the past two games. (Garrison was spotted walking around the Lightning locker room with no noticeable limp while wearing dress shoes.)

Tampa Bay just keeps on defying the odds.

”It’s hard to explain,’’ Cooper said. “I think there’s a group of players that have come up here, they’re just playing not to let anybody down. They’re playing with ‘We belong here.’ They’re playing with ‘We’re a part of this organization.’ They’re playing with everything that says team. Then you get the guys that have been here before. Your best players got to be your best players . . . they’ve elevated their game. We have a group of guys that’ve come in and says ‘Hey we’re not looking to let you guys down. You guys do what you do and we won’t let you down.’.’’

The collective effort was the theme of Tampa Bay’s stunning comeback victory on Monday.

From Gourde’s overtime winner, two goals from Jonathan Drouin – who reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career – to Victor Hedman’s three assists, which brought him to 50 on the season to set a franchise record for most assists by a defenseman in a single-season while tying Roman Hamrlik for most points in a season by a defenseman with 65. Nikita Kucherov, who was named the No. 1 start of the week on Monday, picked up two more assists to register his fifth consecutive multi-point game while moving in to a tie for fourth in league scoring with 80 points.

Then there was the contribution of goaltender Andrei Vasielvskiy, who was pulled from the game with 6:19 left in the first period after Tampa Bay fell behind 3-1, only to be reinserted to the game to start the second period and coming up with a massive save in the third period, stopping Patrick Kane on a partial breakaway that kept the game tied.

”We don’t get down on ourselves, we just get going and keep playing our game,’’ Drouin said. “I liked the way we were 4-1 down, in a huge game like this and we answered the right way.’’

That answer came in the form of three goals in the span of 4:39 to turn a three-goal deficit in to a tie game as Drouin scored at 11:45 of the second period on a redirect of an Alex Killorn shot, Anton Stralman cut it to 4-3 as he came down the back door to pickup a loose puck after Greg McKegg – who picked up his first point with the Lightning – came from around the back of the net to get the puck toward the crease at 12:47. Then Drouin pulled Tampa Bay even, wiring a wrist shot through a screen for his 20th of the season and the Lightning’s second power play goal of the night at 16:24.

After the emotional comeback, Tampa Bay slowed the game back down in the third to ensure their defensive structure remained intact and waited for the chance, which came late in the overtime as Gourde got free and found enough space to send a wrist shot past Scott Darling to lift Tampa Bay to an improbable victory.

”I knew the guy was closing in pretty quick so I was trying to take a shot to make sure I get a shot on net on that play,’’ Gourde said. “I shot low glove and I think it slid through his elbow. I don’t know. It’s a pretty amazing feeling.’’

A pretty amazing feeling to cap off a pretty amazing comeback in what has been a pretty amazing season as once again Tampa Bay – somehow – is still upright on the mat despite being knocked down many times as the knockout count started. Yet they get back up and keep fighting, displaying a defiance to the many who have counted then down and out, still delivering their own punches.

Postgame notes: D Victor Hedman recorded his fourth, three-assist game of the season. … Tampa Bay improved to 9-0-2 in the past 11 regular season meetings against the Blackhawks. … RW Nikita Kucherov recorded his 22nd point this month, setting a franchise record for most in a calendar month, breaking the record originally set by Steven Stamkos in November, 2010. … LW Ondrej Palat appeared in his 300th career NHL game while increasing his scoring streak to five games with his 16th goal of the season. … Tampa Bay snapped a three-game losing streak on home ice. … The Lightning have allowed four or more goals in four consecutive home games.

My three stars:
1.Lightning C Yanni Gourde – First career OT goal

2.Lightning D Victor Hedman – Three assists, 29 minutes of ice time

3.Lightning LW Jonathan Drouin – Two goals, 7 shot attempts, 4-of-5 on faceoffs

Jon Cooper postgame reaction

Postgame reaction from Yanni Gourde and Jonathan Drouin

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