Lightning rally, clinch playoff berth with OT win against Ducks

TAMPA -- The Tampa Bay Lightning clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Anthony Cirelli won it at 1:58 after Nikita Kucherov tied the game 3-3 with 13 seconds remaining in the third period and Brian Elliott pulled for the extra attacker.

The Lightning appeared to win when Alex Killorn scored 1:01 into overtime, but the goal was nullified after a video review determined Killorn preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
"The last 10 minutes of the game it seemed like we kept it simple and we had some opportunities," Killorn said. "'Kuch' makes a great shot at the end to tie it up."
Tampa Bay (45-21-8), which has won the Stanley Cup the past two seasons, qualified for the playoffs for the eighth time in the past nine seasons. The Lightning remain four points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division and moved three points ahead of the Boston Bruins, who lost to the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Thursday.
"You take pride in that, there's no doubt, because this is a tough league to win it," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "A ton of credit goes to the players, because it's hard. ... You know we've won a couple of Cups and there's ample opportunity for guys to take a breath and say 'ok', but they haven't, and they keep pushing forward and doing it in different ways."
Cirelli and Killorn each had a goal and an assist, and Elliott made 13 saves in relief of Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was pulled 10:41 into the second period after allowing three goals on 13 shots.

Adam Henrique scored twice, Ryan Getzlaf had two assists, and Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves for Anaheim (29-33-14), which finished 1-1-2 on its road trip.
Getzlaf, who will retire at the end of the season, said he was excited to play a final game against friend and former teammate Corey Perry. They played together with the Ducks for 14 seasons from 2005-2019 and won the Stanley Cup in 2007.
"It was fun to be out there competing with a couple of guys I've played with," Getzlaf said. "I've played other games against Perry, but it was great to get out there and play what will be my last game against him."
Ross Colton gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period with a backhand from close range that deflected off the leg of Ducks defenseman Josh Mahura. It was Colton's sixth goal in the past 10 games.
Killorn extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:42 with a shot from the high slot.
"We don't love our entire game and I think we have some steps to take to get better," Killorn said. "We have to find a way to get ourselves ready for the playoffs. But like I said, finding a way to win at the end hopefully can galvanize us and we gain some momentum moving forward."
Henrique cut it to 2-1 at 3:42 of the second period with a redirect off an initial shot from Kevin Shattenkirk. Henrique tied it 2-2 at 10:19 with another redirect, this time off a shot from Getzlaf that Vasilevskiy could not handle before it trickled into the net.
Troy Terry put the Ducks ahead 3-2 at 10:41 with a redirect off an initial shot from Andrej Sustr. It was his third straight game with a goal.
"We made a little adjustment there with [Getzlaf] and Adam and Troy, and it worked out all right," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. "'Getzy' was feeling it tonight. It's been a long road trip and the games piled up, but he was still rolling. It's fun to watch."

The last time Vasilevskiy was pulled from a game was March 13, 2018, when he allowed six goals on 29 shotsin a 7-4 loss to the Senators.
"It was really not on him, we left guys open in front and let them have deflections," Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said, "Those are ones that are pretty much unstoppable for a goalie. It got away from us there for a bit and they made us pay."
Killorn appeared to tie the score 3-3 at 14:23, but the Ducks challenged for offside, and a video review determined Brandon Hagel preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
NOTES: Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler had an assist to set an NHL career high with 31. He had 30 as a rookie in 2010-11 and again in 2013-14. … Henrique has five points (three goals, two assists) in the past five games. ... Lightning forward Steven Stamkos had two assists to reach 50 for the third time in his NHL career. ... Kucherov has scored in five goals in the past seven games. ... Shattenkirk was honored with a video tribute in his first game at Amalie Arena since the 2019-2020 season. He helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2020.