Anthony Cirelli scored on a breakaway off a steal 2:36 into overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning returned home for a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Cirelli took off on the game-winning dash after Brandon Hagel stripped Mikko Rantanen in three-on-three play, lifting the Lightning to their season-high fourth straight win.
Hagel also scored for Tampa Bay, which improved to 2-2 in overtime and got 20 saves from goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy as he moved to 16-4-3 all-time against the Stars.
Adam Erne scored for Dallas, which had its three-game winning streak snapped but extended its point streak to five games (3-0-2).
Jake Oettinger made 30 saves, and six-time All-Star Tyler Seguin played in his 1,000th NHL game.
Following a pregame ceremony celebrating Nikita Kucherov’s 1,000th point which he recorded Saturday night, the Lightning turned up the heat in the first five minutes but could not hit the twine against Oettinger, who blanked the Washington Capitals on 24 saves in Tuesday’s 1-0 home win.
Hagel and Erne had identical backhanded wraparounds tries four minutes apart, with each one slipping out into the slot. However, Oettinger and Vasilevskiy were up to the task of making the ensuing saves.
Hagel nearly chipped in a goal from in tight inside the first period’s closing minutes, but the frame ended scoreless with the Lightning up 11-6 in shots.
Just over four minutes into the second, Oettinger made a point-blank save on Brayden Point on a swift Lightning breakout.
With 4:53 remaining in the period, Hagel’s pass was deflected by Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen and appeared to cross the goal line.
After some confusion over the play, it was reviewed and Hagel was awarded the tally at 15:02. Charle-Edouard D’Astous notched his first NHL assist on the power-play goal.
Following a save by Vasilevskiy on Jason Robertson’s strong shot from the right circle, Erne, a 2013 Lightning second-round pick, notched his first goal with Dallas after redirecting a long shot by Alexander Petrovic at 2:03 of the third.
–Field Level Media
