Ondrej Palat has found his scoring touch.
It took the Lightning winger six games to score his first playoff goal. Since then, he has four in the last three games, including two in Saturday's Game 4 win over the Bruins.
Palat scored the first two goals of a 3-1 win, which put the Lightning in position to close out their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday.
He also scored the goal that may have been the series' turning point. Back in Game 2, the Lightning went into overtime facing the prospect of starting the series down two games. Palat's goal gave them the first of three consecutive wins.
Palat is showing more confidence in his shot. He's quicker to settle to the puck and take the shot _ like in his first goal on Saturday.
"Pally is a confident player," said Brayden Point, who assisted on Palat's first goal. "He's super reliable for us. He's always in the right spot, he's got tons of skill, he sees the ice well and he's got a heck of a shot. To see a couple go in for him now is awesome, and hopefully he can keep that rolling."
Palat got the Lightning started about midway through the first period. He finished a nice play by Point to freeze Bruins defenseman Torey Krug just off the post. Point set up Palat in the slot, and Palat's shot landed just below the crossbar.
Then in the second period, Palat put a one-timer set up by center Anthony Cirelli over goaltender Jaroslav Halak's glove.
"We've put him in some positions to be able to take shots," coach Jon Cooper said. "But he's also got two pretty good players (Point and Nikita Kucherov) that are giving him the puck. You got some guys that can get it to you, and your job is to shoot it. There's a reason he plays with those guys, it's because he can."
Cooper went on to praise Palat as one of the poster children for the "200-foot game." That means in addition to offensive play, Palat is hard on the puck, responsible in the defensive end.
That's really why Palat is on the line with Point and Kucherov. He adds that element to their highly skilled game.
"He's the guy that goes into the corners and gets the puck for us," Kucherov said previously. "He works in front, and that's huge for us because none of us plays in the middle like that. We play to the outside and create. He's the guy that competes so hard and gets the puck for us."
Scoring is not a staple of Palat's game. He has only surpassed 20 goals once in his seven-year career, though he had a good shot at doing it again before this season was shortened by the coronavirus.
Palat started the season strong. He stood out in training camp back in September, looking trimmer, faster and more confident. Cooper said speed, and trimming up some bulky muscle, were the two things Palat could have improved on.
He matched the previous season's eight goals in the first 21 games. Palat didn't maintain that scoring pace, but he did have 17 goals in 69 games for the season. His average is about 16, but Palat hadn't reached that since 2017.
Cooper calls Palat someone "we've never really had to worry about." But when a forward with an all-around responsible game _ someone you can trust in the defensive end even if that isn't his main focus _ gets better offensively, that's always a good thing.
The Lightning already liked him as a complement to Point's and Kucherov's skill who can add net-front presence and dig out pucks. When Palat is finishing on goals, it adds another element to a powerful trio.
"He's been outstanding for us," Cooper said previously. "He's probably the guy that gets talked about the least on that line, but you can't say he's any less important."
Victor Hedman put the Lightning up 3-0 with a goal at the 18:04 mark of the second period.
The Bruins' Jake DeBrusk provided the final margin with a third-period goal on a power play.
