Raddysh, Lightning recover for OT victory against Devils

TAMPA -- Darren Raddysh scored at 1:52 of overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning recovered for a 4-3 win against the New Jersey Devils at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Raddysh scored with a snap shot from inside the right circle that beat Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek to the far post.

"Just get open, [Nikita Kucherov] is going to find you eventually," Raddysh said. "We're chasing these guys in the standings, and any extra point we can get is big."

Luke Glendening scored twice, and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning (21-17-5), who have won two in a row and three of four. Kucherov and Nick Perbix each had two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves.

"We know where we are and what we have to do," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "We don't have a ton of wiggle room and we had a chance to get points like we did tonight. This is probably a game that maybe earlier in the year we don't win ... something doesn't go our way, or we lose it in overtime. Now, we're finding ways. That's big for our group."

Dawson Mercer, Jesper Bratt and Nathan Bastian scored for the Devils (21-15-3), who have lost their past two games. Vanecek made 16 saves.

Mercer gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 7:42 of the first period when he scored on a follow-up of his initial shot.

"I thought we played a heck of a game,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “Young [defense] struggled in the first period and after that I thought we moved the puck well and created a lot of opportunities. I really felt like we did a lot of good things in the game. We really skated well."

Glendening tied it 1-1 at 12:35 with a redirection in front of the net off a shot from Perbix.

Glendening gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead at 18:22 with a short-handed goal from the left circle after Luke Hughes turned the puck over in the zone.

"I thought we grinded tonight,” Glendening said. “We weren't great, but we stuck with it and got the two points in the end. We've put ourselves in this spot and we've got to dig our way out a little bit."

Point extended it to 3-1 at 10:34 of the second period on a one-timer from the slot with Tampa Bay using an extra attacker on a delayed penalty call. It was his 20th goal of the season.

Bratt cut it to 3-2 at 16:54, tapping the puck in off the post after it bounced off the end boards.

"We played a solid game all the way through," Bratt said. "All four lines really came to work. It [stinks] not to get those two points, but in our division the one point is huge."

Bastian tied it 3-3 at 3:53 of the third period on a breakaway following a turnover by Perbix at the blue line.

"It was nice to get one, they have been hard to come by for me," said Bastian, who played his 200th NHL game. "I think we had a lot of guys that stepped up tonight. We've proven in the past, we've proven on the road that regardless of who's in the lineup we've built a culture where we know how we have to play."

The Devils appeared to take the lead at 6:15 on a goal from Michael McLeod, but the play was overturned after Tyler Toffoli was ruled offside following a coach’s challenge by the Lightning.

"That was a tough break, close call and a tough break," Ruff said. "You've got to move on. We've had lots of those where we've got the call, and obviously, I think they made the right call."

NOTES: Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak left the game at 17:59 of the first period and did not return after taking a check from Bastian. ... Point has seven consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals. ...Kucherov leads the NHL with 69 points (28 goals, 41 assists) and has seven straight seasons with at least 40 assists; he tied Victor Hedman (seven) for the second most 40-assist seasons in Lightning history. Martin St. Louis has the most with eight.