Bratt scores 1st NHL hat trick, Devils rally past Lightning

TAMPA --Jesper Bratt scored his first NHL hat trick for the New Jersey Devils in a 5-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Sunday.

Nico Hischier had a goal and an assist, and Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves for the Devils (45-18-7), who had lost twice to the Lightning earlier in the week before blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of a 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
New Jersey moved one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes, who have two games in hand, for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
"We played way better today," Hischier said. "It would have been a tough one to swallow if we'd given up the lead again, but we all around played our game. You just have to learn from those games. We know that if we play our game, we can beat those teams."

Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn scored for the Lightning (42-23-6), who had won three in a row. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves.
Tampa Bay remained three points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have two games in hand, for second in the Atlantic Division.
"We have to go back to keeping it simple," Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian said. "We are a very successful team on the forecheck and getting pucks behind them and then going to work."

Kucherov gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 3:26 of the first period, scoring with a one-timer from the high slot off a pass from Steven Stamkos shortly after a power play expired. He has 100 points (28 goals, 72 assists) in 71 games this season.
Killorn extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:30 of the second period. He slowly skated into the zone while looking for a pass, then after Damon Severson went down to the ice he cut to the slot and quickly shot five-hole on Vanecek.
"To put it in a nutshell, I really liked our first period and the first eight minutes of the second period," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We scored that second goal after they had a couple of chances … then an inexcusable goal off a face-off right away. That never should have happened. That just triggered their momentum. Then it was just senseless turnovers and managing the puck."
Bratt scored nine seconds after Killorn to cut it to 2-1. He got control of the puck while skating through the slot before shooting glove side on Vasilevskiy from the edge of the left circle.
"Obviously, that was really important," Bratt said. "I think we felt as a group that we were playing good hockey. We came out strong, and obviously that goal was kind of a break for us. We got a good face-off play that worked and we got a goal out of it, and that started the momentum for us. That was huge."
Bratt then tied it 2-2 at 9:22 with a shot from the point through traffic.
"We started managing the puck horrendously and we invited them into the game," Lightning forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. "We have control of the puck in the first. In the second, we have a few turnovers. It's on us. Despite the first period, they were really patient in the second, waiting for us to make mistakes."

Hischier put New Jersey ahead 3-2 at 12:02 of the second, beating Vasilevskiy five-hole from the high slot.
"Yes, I just took the middle where I saw ice," Hischier said. "They took Timo [Meier] away, and I just took the shot."
Nolan Foote scored his first of the season from the top of the right circle to extend the lead to 4-2 at 9:51 of the third period.
"I really liked his game," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "We really didn't know until late, probably until warm up, if we were going to go [11 defensemen and seven forwards] or go with four lines. I'm really glad we chose the four lines. I thought he was strong in his own end. He did a great job forechecking, sealing walls. Just a lot of real good play."

Bratt completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal at 19:48 for the 5-2 final.
Bratt and Hischier each has scored 30 goals this season.
"It's great when you achieve those goals and get the win as well," Ruff said. "We needed a big performance out of our best players, and I thought we got that tonight."
Devils forward Ondrej Palat, who played his first 10 NHL seasons with the Lightning, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021, was honored with a video tribute during a break in the first period.
"It fostered a ton of great memories and shows how important 'Pally' was to this organization," Cooper said. "The upward of 700 games he played with us and the countless playoff games. He raised a couple of Cups with us. If you talk about importance to a franchise and what he brought in the biggest times during the biggest games in the biggest moments … that was Ondrej Palat."
NOTES:This is the third season Kucherov has had at least 100 points (2017-18, 2018-19). … Foote was selected by Tampa Bay with the No. 27 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft before being traded to New Jersey for Blake Coleman on Feb. 16, 2020. … Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton had two assists. … Stamkos has five points (three goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak.