Charlie Coyle scored 3:37 into overtime to lift the visiting Boston Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.
Jake DeBrusk initially set up Coyle at the doorstep but the puck squirted behind the net. DeBrusk, however, made a play with his body on Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point, allowing Coyle to regain possession and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy for his 16th goal of the season and second in overtime.
DeBrusk also scored his seventh goal in his last seven games for the Bruins (45-21-5, 95 points), who improved to 18-4-1 in their last 23 contests and moved into sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division. Boston won three of the four games in the season series against Tampa Bay.
Linus Ullmark finished with 28 saves to win his sixth straight start for the Bruins, who saw star David Pastrnak miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm also sat out with a lower-body injury.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored a goal and Vasilevskiy turned aside 35 shots for the Lightning (43-20-8, 94 points), who have lost a season-high four in a row (0-2-2).
Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov saw their respective eight- and six-game point streaks come to a halt.
Defenseman Erik Cernak nearly gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead midway into the third period, however his shot from the right circle caromed off the post.
The Bruins drew first blood 47 seconds into the second period after Cernak failed to clear the puck. Brad Marchand alertly fed DeBrusk, who backhanded the puck between the pads of Vasilevskiy for his 22nd goal of the season.
Tampa Bay answered at 3:28 of the second period after Corey Perry fed Bellemare in front of the net. Bellemare unleashed a blast over the glove of Ullmark for his eighth goal of the season and first since March 3.
Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli’s shot from the slot caromed off the post to keep the game scoreless with 1:53 remaining in the first period.
–Field Level Media