Burns: Three Things we learned from a miraculous comeback

Raise your hand if you thought the Tampa Bay Lightning still had a chance to win when former Bolt Vladislav Namestnikov gave Detroit a 6-3 lead with 12:50 remaining.
I certainly didn't think the Lightning had it in them.
Fortunately, the championship pedigree of the Bolts won out.

Tampa Bay rallied from three separate three-goal deficits in a miraculous 7-6 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena Thursday night for its first win of the 2021-22 season. The Lightning scored three goals in the final 6:17 of regulation to salvage at least a point from what looked like a sure loss and an 0-2 start to the season earlier in the third period. Alex Killorn brought the Bolts even with 2:19 to go, flicking a pass from Victor Hedman into the net from the edge of the crease to tie the game 6-all.
Ondrej Palat capped off the comeback 2:43 into overtime, the Czech left winger redirecting a centering feed from Hedman into the net against a tired group of Detroit skaters for the third overtime goal of his career and his second goal of the game (he scored the first of the Bolts' seven goals 8:08 into the second period).
Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up the most goals he's ever allowed against Detroit, surrendering six on 26 shots, and still picked up the win, his first of the season, to remain undefeated for his career versus the Red Wings, one of three NHL teams Vasilevskiy has yet to lose to in the regular season (also: 11-0-0 vs. Chicago and 4-0-0 vs. Anaheim).
Nikita Kucherov produced a four-point night, the 16th game of four or more points for his career. Steven Stamkos netted two power-play goals and had a power-play assist. Victor Hedman had four assists, only the second time in his career he's tallied as many (also: 12/28/19 vs. Montreal).
Tyler Bertuzzi scored four goals for Detroit and nearly had a fifth on a 2-on-1 shorthanded breakaway.
Thursday was a wild night in the Motor City.
Here's what stood out from Tampa Bay's rally over the Red Wings.

1. THE COMEBACK
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper thought a three-goal deficit in the third period was undeserved for his team based on how they had played up to that point.
But that's the situation Tampa Bay faced after Tyler Bertuzzi scored his fourth goal of the game, this coming seconds after a Lightning power play on Bertuzzi's tripping infraction ended, and Namestnikov netted a rebound from the slot at 7:10 of the third to re-establish Detroit's three goal lead at 6-3.
The Lightning didn't give up hope at that point.
But it was fading fast.
Ross Colton energized the Lightning with 6:17 to go, scoring from the edge of the blue paint to get the Bolts back within two goals at 6-4.
"Ross' goal was huge," Stamkos said. "It gave us some life. Two goals, it gives you an opportunity."
Tampa Bay was handed a gift with 4:11 to go when Robby Fabbri was whistled for tripping, and it felt like if the Lightning were going to make a game of it, they'd have to score on the ensuing power play.
Nikita Kucherov wanted the puck on his stick, at times taking over the game in the third. With Andrei Vasilevskiy pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage, the puck found its way to Kucherov, who blistered a one-timer from the right dot to pull the Bolts closer at 6-5 with 3:35 remaining.
"Get the goal, now we're down one, there was probably three-and-a-half, four (minutes) left," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "No rush now. We had a big line go out there and lean on them a bit. Rested our guys up. We had a good feeling on the bench, and we had tons of practice (with the goalie pulled) the game before."
Less than a minute later, Tampa Bay struck again with the goalie pulled, Alex Killorn at the net redirecting Victor Hedman's centering pass from the corner past a partially-out-of-position Nedeljkovic to get the Bolts' back on level terms.
"I was trying to cut off whatever they were going to do," Hedman said. "I don't even know a strong side or weak side, I felt like we had the weak side covered so I just used my speed and was able to grab it off the wall and find Killer. Big goal."
Now with renewed energy, the Lightning took complete control in overtime. Tampa Bay held possession for nearly all of the extra session, wearing down a tired group of Red Wings who couldn't get off the ice while the Bolts skated with the puck in the offensive zone and were able to get fresh players on.
The winning play took 10 seconds from start to finish. Hedman took possession of the puck behind the Bolts' net and motored quickly up the ice. He passed to Brayden Point at the blue line and sprinted down the right wing, Point giving the puck back to the Swede with speed at the center line. From the right dot, Hedman put a puck to the front of the net, and Ondrej Palat was there to guide it in for the final of Tampa Bay's four-consecutive goals and a 7-6 overtime win.
"There's not a lot of teams in this League that can come back being down three goals the last six minutes or whatever," Hedman said. "Says a lot about the character in that room."

2. SHADES OF A NIGHT IN NEWARK TWO YEARS AGO
If Thursday's night comeback win felt familiar, Tampa Bay played a similar game two years ago.
Remember early in the 2019-20 season when the Lightning were struggling to find their game, traveled to play an underdog New Jersey squad, trailed for much of the night, gave up the tying goal with eight seconds to go but still was able to pull out a victory, also in overtime by the same 7-6 score?
The win in Detroit was remarkably similar.
And it also came in a point in the season when the Lightning are working new additions into their lineup and trying to find their identity.
That 2019-20 squad struggled over the first two months of the season. They were in sixth place in the Atlantic Division when December began, ahead of only lowly Ottawa and Detroit. But that early-season rally in New Jersey was a glimpse into the future for the team, a look at the resolve they would display when the season was paused for the COVID-19 pandemic in March and the Bolts kept it together during the break and went on a championship run once the playoffs resumed.
Maybe Thursday's win in Detroit can have a similar effect as the Lightning look to become just the fourth NHL franchise to win three Stanley Cups in a row.
Tampa Bay was determined to play with a better effort and higher compete in Detroit after looking lackluster in an Opening Night 6-2 loss at home to Pittsburgh. The Lightning started Thursday's contest much better than they did two nights earlier. They did a lot of positive things, but they just weren't being rewarded on the scoreboard. Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice early in the second period to give the Red Wings a 3-0 lead. Ondrej Palat responded quickly, but Bertuzzi netted a third goal to re-establish Detroit's three-goal advantage.
Steven Stamkos made it a one-goal game with a pair of power-play goals after Dylan Larkin was ejected from the game for sucker punching Mathieu Joseph. The Lightning initially gave up a power-play goal to Bertuzzi as the Bolts were somehow sent to the penalty kill with two minor penalties against them on the dustup that followed Larkin's play that was deemed intent to injure. Stamkos drilled a pair of one-timers once the Bolts got three minutes of power play time from Larkin's major in a needed response from Tampa Bay.
The Lightning again fell behind by three goals early in the third, however, when Bertuzzi scored again and Namestinikov netted a rebound.
"To me, the right team won the game," Cooper said. "I thought there was a lot of things we couldn't control in that game tonight. We could control some of our play. There's some things that we need to work on. In the end, we gave ourselves a chance to win. There's probably long odds for us to win that game halfway through the third, but I think the gamesmanship and the work our team put in for 50 (minutes) paid off in the last 10. So you've got to give the guys a ton of credit."
Despite trailing by three goals, the Lightning continued to plug away, knowing if they stuck to their game, they still had time to rally.
"We probably didn't deserve to be down three goals multiple times in this game, it's just the way that game went," Stamkos said. "It was a weird one. It's early, but you can build off wins like this where they're emotional and you come back and you start to build on something."

3. DEFENSIVE CONCERNS
Not all was positive from Tampa Bay's rally in Detroit.
The fact the Lightning found themselves trailing the Red Wings by three goals, coming off Tuesday's lackluster performance, is not something expected of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions facing a young team that has talent but is still probably a year or two away from challenging for the playoffs.
And then there's the six goals the Lightning allowed, the second time in two games they've surrendered that many.
It's not just on the defensemen or the goalie, it's a collective team failure. The skaters in front of Vasilevskiy aren't playing as a cohesive five-man unit, and the amount of fire Vasilevskiy has been under through two games is considerably more than he faced in the playoffs a few months ago.
Tampa Bay prided itself on its ability to shut down the opposition over its two Stanley Cup runs. Protecting their net was a hallmark of those Lightning teams. They frustrated and wore down opponents with their ability to defend until it translated into offensive opportunities.
This year's team hasn't been nearly clean enough in its own zone, giving the puck away routinely. And they've done a poor job of coverage, often allowing skaters to roam free around the net.
"We need to clean up some stuff in the D zone and help Vasy a little more," Hedman said. "But at the end of the game, two points and we're very happy."
The Lightning gave up just 2.59 goals per game last season, sixth fewest in the NHL.
Through two games this season, they've allowed more goals than any other team.
There's certainly the expectation the Lightning will get better defensively as the year progresses and get back to that defend-at-all-costs mentality.
But right now, there's no urgency in the defensive zone, and that has to change.
Otherwise, the Lightning will have to win more games in the manner they did Thursday, by outscoring teams in shootouts.
And that's just not sustainable.
"That was a crazy game no question," Cooper said. "But the bottom line is who came with two points. Did we come here to get two points? We did. But we do have to tighten things up as this season goes along. But pretty proud of how they came back."