By Michael Wax
The Lightning erased a 2-0 third-period deficit and saw an overtime goal from Brayden Point as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Here are three things we saw from the win:
There’s A Point In Warmups
After four games and three weeks out of the lineup, forward Brayden Point returned against the Penguins. He did not miss a beat, coming back with a vengeance and really putting the team on his shoulders to earn this victory.
Trailing to nothing midway through the second period, Point chased after an offensive zone dump-in from Ryan McDonagh. After circling around the net, he outwaited Tristan Jarry before firing home a backhander glove side to give the Lightning a glimmer of hope and make it a 2-1 game.
On the overtime goal, the Lightning had numbers across the blue line before J.J Moser slid one behind the net and went to go cover on defende. With Jarry and the other three Penguins skaters out of position, Point had enough time to gather the puck, get it to his forehand, and shovel it home for his second goal of the day and the overtime winner.
Even though the Lightning have been winning, they've sorely missed Point's production. Already with ten goals on the year, he is second on the Lightning in goals despite missing four games.
Bad Wins
As the old saying goes, a win is a win, and two points are two points, no matter how you get them. That being said, the lightning left a lot to be desired despite the victory.
The Lightning came into this matchup against the Penguins having defeated two of the NHL's top five teams, including the best team in the NHL. The Penguins were 25th in the entire NHL and had a goaltender with a .847 save percentage so far.
Through 40 minutes, the numbers undoubtedly favored the Lightning in terms of shots and chances. But something seemed off. Whether it was missed connections on passes, overskating Pucks in all three zones, a failure to communicate on puck retrieval, or something else, the Lightning struggled in certain aspects against a Penguins team that they should have demolished.
Credit to the Lightning, who responded to tie the game and eventually win it in overtime. But against better teams, falling behind like that will lead to problems going forward.
Tony Time
One of the least talked-about aspects of the positive start to the lightning season has come in the form of Anthony Cirelli. Fresh off a career-high season in 2023-24 with 20 goals and 45 points, Cirelli was going to need to take an even bigger offensive jump with the departure of Steven Stamkos and Anthony Duclair. Early indications are that he has certainly taken that mantle.
While his 12 assists, tied for second on the team, are undoubtedly impressive, his goal-scoring ended up tying this game for the Lightning in that third period. Taking a pass from Victor Hedman, Cirelli looked to find Brandon Hagel in front for a tap-in before eventually wheeling in front and sending a pass towards the net. Luckily for Cirelli and the Lightning, The puck took a fortuitous bounce off the stick of Tristan Jarry and found its way towards the back of the net to tie the game.
Sometimes, you have to be good to be lucky, and sometimes, you have to be lucky to be good. Anthony Cirelli has certainly shown in this early part of the season that he is both, and he has done all the right things in this point-per-game scoring jump.
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