Ellis, Predators rally past Lightning in OT

TAMPA --Ryan Ellis scored with 1:45 remaining in overtime to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Saturday.

Four seconds after the Lightning killed a penalty for too many men on the ice, Roman Josi got the puck following a turnover by Braydon Coburn and passed to Ellis, who scored from the top of the left face-off circle with the teams playing 4-on-4.
"He's been playing great," Josi said of Ellis. "Obviously, the goal was a huge one tonight, but other things that maybe people don't see, the little plays he makes back there. The way he creates space for me too. He's unbelievable. I love playing with him."
WATCH: [All Predators vs. Lightning highlights]
Josi had a goal and two assists, Calle Jarnkrok had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Johansen had two assists for Nashville (7-3-1), which has won three straight games. Juuse Saros made 28 saves for his first win of the season.
"Of course it's a big thing. Every year you want to get it out of the way as fast as you can," Saros said. "It took a while, but it's part of this sport. You have to handle different situations. It was nice to get the win tonight. I think everybody just battled really hard. That's the way you've got to play on the road sometimes."

Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson scored, and Curtis McElhinney made 37 saves for Tampa Bay (5-3-2), which went 1-1-1 on a three-game homestand.
"It's a tough loss, for sure," McElhinney said. "The effort was there on everyone's part. We played a really good game, so it's disappointing."
Jarnkrok gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 14:24 of the first period with a power-play goal when his one-timer from the left circle deflected off Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak's stick.
Stamkos tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal 32 seconds into the second period, beating Saros with a shot from the right hash marks.

"We've got to be smarter. We took some offensive zone penalties, some too many men penalties. Those are just easy fixes," Stamkos said. "We just have to dig deep a little bit and pay attention a little more to the details, and we'll improve in those areas."
Johnson gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead at 9:25 of the second. After Victor Hedman's shot was blocked in front, Johnson took a touch pass from Brayden Point and scored from low in the slot.
"Missed opportunity," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "It's a game I felt we had in control from the drop of the puck until the end. That's what's really disappointing about it because we played well."
Josi tied it 2-2 at 14:47 of the third period with a one-timer from the point on the power play.
"It's a good team down there that we played. Our guys stuck with it for 60 minutes," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "The first 40 weren't where we needed to be offensively, but we played defense and eventually we got to tie it up."

They said it

"We just don't quit. I think Juuse probably kept us in there in the second period, and it was only 2-1 so we knew we had a chance. And I think it speaks for our team that we never quit."-- Predators captain Roman Josi

"Points are very valuable, especially when you're going on a two-week (road) trip. It's going to sting that we let a point slip away with under 10 minutes left in the third. Again, we're trying to harp on certain areas of the game that we're improving, but penalties come back to bite us again." -- Lightning captain Steven Stamkos

Need to know

Nashville is outscoring its opponents 24-11 in the third period. ... Stamkos' goal was his 398th in the NHL. … Josi has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past nine games. … Ellis has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in the past seven games. … Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov had an assist but has not scored in the past six games. … The Predators are 5-0-1 in their past six games at Amalie Arena.

What's next

Predators: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Lightning:At the New York Rangers on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)