Foote scores first NHL goal to help Lightning defeat Predators

TAMPA -- Cal Foote scored his first NHL goal, one of four second-period goals for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 4-3 win against the Nashville Predators at Amalie Arena on Saturday.

Victor Hedman had a goal and an assist, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves for the Lightning (4-1-1).
Pekka Rinne made 29 saves for the Predators (4-4-0), who lost to the Lightning in regulation for the first time (9-1-2). Filip Forsberg had two assists.
"I didn't know [the record vs. Rinne] so I am surprised," Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson said. "Every time we play Nashville it seems like it's a battle. Now that they are in our [Discover Central] Division we're going to see them a lot more."
Foote made it 2-1 with a one-timer from the left circle that beat Rinne short side at 6:41 of the second period. It was his fourth NHL game.
"It felt unbelievable, it was kind of like a blackout," Foote said. "You dream your whole life of scoring your first one. I'll definitely remember that."

The Lightning took a 3-1 lead at 8:05 when Hedman scored on a wrist shot, and got their fourth of the period when Steven Stamkos scored a power-play goal at 17:27 to make it 4-1. It was his 300th NHL power-play point, which tied Martin St. Louis for the Lightning record.
"The power play scored and that always helps," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "But when we're having success we shoot the puck, and we didn't shoot the puck in the first period.
"But I did think we were rewarded in the second for our play, and I think we had gone 6-7 periods without a goal, so at some point the dam had to break. It did in the second and that was enough for us to win tonight."

Mathieu Olivier, playing his 14th NHL game, scored his first NHL goal with a tip-in on a power play at 7:00 of the third period to cut it to 4-2.
"It's definitely a big step in my career, getting the first goal is always special," Olivier said. "But in this case, I don't think the team was happy with the way we played the second period and the focus was more about coming back in this game. But yeah, a big milestone personally, but unfortunately we didn't get the win to complement that."
Viktor Arvidsson made it 4-3 at 18:26 with Rinne pulled for an extra skater.
"We got ourselves in penalty trouble in the second period," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "That carried into momentum for Tampa [Bay] and we didn't do a good job of responding to that momentum. In the third period we dug in and played a lot faster. We executed better and we were a harder team. The second period cost us the game."
Ryan Ellis gave Nashville a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 17:55 of the first period. Nick Cousins took control of a loose puck in front of the net and passed to Ellis in the slot.
Johnson tied it 1-1 with his first goal of the season at 3:33 of the second period, scoring off a rebound on a power play. The goal ended a scoring drought of 128:47 for the Lightning.
"It nice when you get those bounces," Johnson said. "[Yanni Gourde] was able to put that over to an empty net. You just have to keep on working for those and they will come. It was nice to get this one."
NOTES: Foote's father, Adam Foote, didn't score his first NHL goal until his 37th game. Adam Foote scored 308 points (66 goals, 242 assists) in 1,154 games from 1991-2011 with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, and won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1995-96 and 2000-01. … Lightning forwards Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli, and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev each had two assists. … The Predators were 10-0-3 in their previous 13 games against the Lightning. Nashville's last regulation loss to Tampa Bay was on Dec. 29, 2013. … The second game of the two-game set will be played here Monday.