"We came out of the gate phenomenal and had the two-goal lead," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. "To be honest, what derailed us, it derailed me anyway, was the McDonagh tribute. It was like the worst timing ever because we were rolling.
"I don't know if there was a dry eye on the bench. That was one of the best tributes I've seen, definitely here, so it was pretty moving. Coincidentally, we gave up a shorthanded goal right after that, so I blame Mac. He had his imprint on the game sitting in the stands.
"It was a really moving tribute. It was great. He deserved everything, but it just shows how much he meant to this organization."
After heading to the first intermission up 2-1, Tampa Bay surrendered the lead at the 12:36 mark of the second and went to the locker room with the game tied at two and shots even at 19 apiece.
"We knew that we didn't play our best," said Cooper. "Like I said, that first period, we came out and we really dictated play. I thought that first five minutes of the second period, we had the puck the whole time.
"We didn't shoot, and we let them off the hook. Then they pushed back. They're a good hockey team. They're going to push back, and they did."
But with the game tied at two to start the third period, the Lightning came out with a purpose and took a 3-2 lead 2:14 into the final frame with Point getting his second goal of the night.
"Getting that third one was big," Cooper said. "Now that puts them on their heels a little bit and we took it home from there.
"The bottom line is, the other team's always trying to win too. Good on them for pushing, but good on us to reel it in in the third."
Following Point's second goal of the night, Nick Paul scored his 12th goal of the season with 12:50 remaining in regulation to make it a 4-2 game. Brandon Hagel went on to add a beauty of a shorthanded goal at the 15:40 mark with a bar-down shot right over the glove of Jusse Saros.