Mishkin's Extra Shift: Lightning 5, Blue Jackets 4 - OT

It's often said that the final win in a series is the hardest one to get. That's because the other team, facing elimination, will give its best performance. There's no doubt that getting the win today for the Lightning was a struggle. They blew an early lead, endured a long stretch in which they played their worst hockey in quite some time, and had to rally from a multi-goal deficit late in the third. But they did ultimately prevail, capturing the game and eliminating the Blue Jackets when Brayden Point scored his second overtime winner in the series.

The Lightning started the game well, just missing on a Cedric Paquette chance off an odd-man rush and then scoring two goals in the opening 6:39 of the first period. Tyler Johnson won an offensive zone faceoff and established position in the slot. He tipped Erik Cernak's wrist shot past Joonas Korpisalo at 5:38. Just over a minute later, the Blue Jackets turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Zach Bogosian fed a pass to Blake Coleman, who skated into the offensive zone. He wristed a right circle shot through the legs of defenseman Zach Werenski and past the stick side of Korpisalo.

But right after Coleman's tally - his first with the Lightning - Columbus began pushing back. The Lightning committed some turnovers themselves and fueled their opponent's counterattack. Bogosian was forced to take a penalty during a two-on-one Columbus rush at 9:50. The Blue Jackets were extremely dangerous on the ensuing power play and eventually scored one second after it expired. After Alexander Wennberg shot the puck from the side of the net, Foligno gained position in front and popped in the rebound.

Beginning with that first Columbus power play - which led to the Foligno goal - the Blue Jackets took over the game. In Game Four, the Lightning struggled with puck management and turnovers. This led to reduced puck possession for them and more possession time for Columbus. While the Lightning did lean on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy during those segments in Game Four when they didn't have the puck, they defended hard without the puck and didn't yield a high volume of scoring chances. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case in Game Five. From the mid-point of the first period until the end of the second, the Blue Jackets not only dominated puck possession, they generated numerous Grade-A looks. Compounding matters for the Lightning, they repeatedly took penalties that led to additional Columbus power play opportunities. On the Blue Jackets fourth power play of the game, Kevin Stenlund put in his own rebound to tie the game at 9:35 of the second. In the closing seconds of the period, the Blue Jackets scored again, as Wennberg zipped in a shot from the slot following a goalmouth scramble. It was 3-2 in favor of the Blue Jackets after 40 minutes.

The stat line from the second period was an ugly one for the Lightning. They got outshot 24-8. Shot attempts were 42-10 in favor of Columbus. Through two periods, the Blue Jackets had a 64-25 advantage in shot attempts. The Blue Jackets also put three goals on the board - but if not for Vasilevskiy, they might have netted even more.

So for the third time in the series, the Lightning faced a one-goal deficit entering the third period. In Game One, they tied the score on the opening shift of the third. But Columbus usually excels when it has a lead in the third period. We saw that in Game Two. In that game, with a 2-1 lead entering the third, the Blue Jackets clamped down defensively in the final frame.

With Wennberg's goal late in the second, the Blue Jackets had their first lead of the game. And sure enough, they settled back into their tight structure in the third. But they did it at the expense of the relentless pressure they had applied during the previous period and a half. In the third period, even with two more power play opportunities, the Blue Jackets had only six shots on goal and just 10 attempts. Two of those shots came on their fourth goal. A Lightning d-zone turnover led to a Pierre-Luc Dubois tip and an Oliver Bjorkstrand rebound goal at 9:33. That tally did give the Jackets a 4-2 lead.

So it's clear that the Blue Jackets were content to use the formula from Game Two (and throughout the year) that had brought them so much success when they got a lead. Clog up the neutral zone, protect the front of the net, and minimize opposition shots and scoring chances. But in this game, they failed to protect their lead.

The Lightning unsuccessfully challenged the Bjorkstrand goal for goalie interference, so they had to kill another penalty. It was a strong kill for the Lightning and, on the shift after getting back to full strength, they scored their third goal. Off the rush, Nikita Kucherov fed Kevin Shattenkirk at the right circle. He blasted a shot into the net, pulling the Lightning to within a goal. Then, with 1:38 left and Vasilevskiy on the bench for an extra attacker, they tied it. Kucherov fired a shot from the bottom of the right circle. Korpisalo made the save, but Point took the rebound at the side of the net and passed it in front. Anthony Cirelli had established position at the top of the crease. The puck went off his skate and into the net.

Once the game was tied, the Lightning regained control. They spent very little time in their own end and owned most of the possession time. And they created some dangerous looks. Before regulation ended, Ondrej Palat put a shot off Korpisalo that deflected past him but didn't go in. Early in overtime, Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow both had glorious chances to score. Finally, Point won it at 5:12. After a Lightning dump-in, Korpisalo went behind his net to play the puck. His two defensemen - David Savard and Vladislav Gavrikov - were each on their opposite sides. Korpisalo looked towards Gavirkov, but then decided to slide it to Savard in one corner. Palat accelerated towards Savard, so he passed it behind the net to Gavrikov on the other side. But Gavrikov, as a lefty on his opposite side, had to try to stop the puck on his offside. He couldn't do it. It deflected up the boards to Kucherov, who one-timed a pass in front to Point, who was unguarded. Point faked on his forehand, went to his backhand, and roofed it.

Columbus dominated this game for much of regulation. But the Lightning made some key plays that helped them overcome Columbus' territorial, shot, and chance advantage. On the Johnson and Cirelli goals, both players established position in front of the Columbus net to score on a tip and a deflection. Off the rush, Coleman and Shattenkirk were able to get their shots past a Columbus defender - the Blue Jackets blocked so many of shots over the course of the series, but those two reached the net.

I'll have a full series recap coming in the next few days.

One final note. Congratulations to Rick Peckham on his final play-by-play broadcast. (Regional telecasts are only for the first round of the playoffs). I'm so glad this final one ended with a bang!

Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):

1. Brayden Point - Lightning. GWG and two assists.
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 37 saves.
3. Nick Foligno - Blue Jackets. Goal and assist.