Sam Bennett (7′) and Vladimir Tarasenko (16′) scored for the hosts in the first period. After the break, the guests responded with accurate shots from Brayden Point (21′) and Steven Stamkos (26′).
The second half of the match passed without any goals scored thanks to the confident play of Russian goalkeepers Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevsky. The Florida goalkeeper especially distinguished himself, making an incredible jump save while his back was to his opponent at the time of the throw.
At the end of the third minute of overtime, Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe scored the winning goal. He was named the first star of the match.
For the 28-year-old Canadian, this is the 17th goal in the playoffs and the fifth in overtime. According to this indicator, he rose to third place in NHL history, which he now shares with Glenn Anderson, Patrick Kane and Corey Perry. The record holder is Joe Sakic, who has eight goals in overtime.
Sergei Bobrovsky was named the second star of the match. The 35-year-old Russian stopped 21 of 23 shots and won his 31st victory in the NHL playoffs. His counterpart Andrei Vasilevsky had 34 reflected shots out of 37 and was named the third star of the match.
Florida forward Vladimir Tarasenko played his 99th game in the NHL playoffs and scored his 45th goal, which put him in fifth place on the list of the best playoff snipers among Russians.
The best Russian snipers in the NHL playoffs:
Tampa forward Nikita Kucherov scored an assist during the power play, which was converted by team captain Steven Stamkos. After 144 games played in the NHL playoffs, he has 162 points (53+109).
Florida took a 2-0 lead in the series with Tampa, and now the teams are moving to the Lightning’s home arena. The third match of the series will take place on Friday, April 26.
