As the seconds ticked down, it seemed the Lightning might once again be headed to overtime after coughing up a two-goal lead. Tyler Johnson made sure Tampa Bay was the only team with points out of this game, though.
His late goal gave the Lightning a 3-2 win over the Bruins Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena. Tampa Bay now has four points, putting itself in control of the round robin. The Lightning can secure the top seed with another win on Saturday against the Flyers.
With 1:27 remaining in a tie game, Johnson and Yanni Gourde entered the zone with three Bruins. As Gourde streaked down the wing and put a shot on net, Johnson cut in front of the remaining two Bruins to get a direct path to the net.
Gourde's shot bounced off Tuukka Rask's pads, and Johnson jumped on the puck to put it past the goalie before he could recover.
As these stats count toward the postseason, Johnson has now passed Vinny Lecavalier for third in Lightning history with 25 playoff goals. Martin St. Louis (33) and Nikita Kucherov (30) are the only players with more.
"He comes up big in big moments," Alex Killorn said of Johnson. "That's a huge moment. He breaks free, gets to the net, at the end of the game. That's huge for us going forward. It's a huge two points."
In getting to that point, the Lightning had taken a 2-0 lead and then gave it up _ just like they did against the Capitals on Monday. That one went to a shootout, giving the Capitals a point in the race for playoff seeding.
Brayden Point scored the first goal, following Kucherov's rebound in the first period. Alex Killorn added another, redirecting Victor Hedman's shot with his skate.
Charlie McAvoy put the Bruins on the board late in the second period, with a shot from center point that goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy missed with his glove. Chris Wagner tied the game up 1:47 into the third period. Zdeno Chara's shot from the point bounced through Vasilevskiy's legs, and Wagner tapped it over the line.
