TAMPA, FL – The Lightning struck twice in heart-stopping fashion.
Calvin Pickard held it down terrifically for the Edmonton Oilers with 34 saves, but the Tampa Bay Lightning spoiled his shutout bid with 2:32 remaining in regulation through Nick Paul before Jake Guentzel stole the victory during a wild sequence in overtime for a 2-1 victory at Benchmark International Arena.
Forward Trent Frederic scored Edmonton’s lone goal, ending a stretch of 20 games without scoring only 1:32 into the first period for a 1-0 lead that the Oilers protected all the way until the final three minutes of regulation, when Nick Paul forced the game to overtime with a short-side finish into the top shelf.
During overtime, Darnell Nurse had a shot on a two-on-one that produced a rebound that sat dangerously in the crease for Zach Hyman, who missed the follow-up before Jack Roslovic was denied his third OT winner of the season by an incredible toe save from Andrei Vasilevskiy that sent Tampa the other way.
At the end of the ensuing odd-man rush up ice, Guentzel went far side on Pickard off the feed from Darren Raddysh for his 12th goal of the season to give the Lightning a shock 2-1 victory, handing the Oilers their third straight defeat in heartbreaking fashion.
The Oilers now head to Sunrise for a rematch of the 2024 & 2025 Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday against the defending champion Florida Panthers to close out their lengthy seven-game road trip.