Palat performing again for Lightning in latest run to Stanley Cup Final
Forward's ability to raise level in postseason recognized by coach, teammates
The forward did it again in Tampa Bay's 4-3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, slipping away from the check of defenseman Cale Makar on his way to the net to finish a give-and-go with Nikita Kucherov in the second period to spark a comeback after the Lightning trailed by two goals.
But if they are going even the best-of-7 series in Game 2 at Ball Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS), Palat will likely play a key part, emerging from the shadows once again to pounce when needed.
Among Palat's 46 career postseason goals are a Lightning-record 11 game-winners; only Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski (14) and Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (13) have more in the NHL among active players.
"He's like the deadly assassin," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "You never really know he's there until he does some major damage to you."
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Palat smiles at the assassin comparison. In a locker room filled with marquee names such as Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy, he said he embraces the less-heralded role in the Lightning's pursuit of a third consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
"Yeah, I love it," Palat said. "I like to play under the radar and just be quiet and do my job. Do my job good. It's pretty simple."
That approach has served Palat well for 10 NHL seasons. He has topped 20 goals in the regular season once, when he had 23 in 81 games in 2013-14, but he has scored at least 15 goals seven times.
Palat has reached 50 points three times, including an NHL career-high 63 (16 goals, 47 assists) in 75 games in 2014-15, but not since he had 52 (17 goals, 35 assists) in 2016-17. He came close this season with 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists) in 77 games.
But Palat elevates his play in the postseason. He's second in Lightning history in playoff goals (Kucherov has 51), third in points (90) and fourth in assists (44). Since the start of the 2020 playoffs, only Point (30) and Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (28) have scored more than his 25 goals.
This postseason, he is tied with Stamkos for the Lightning lead with nine goals and is second in points with 17, behind Kucherov's 24, in 18 games. Many of his goals have been timely ones, including his game-winner with 41.6 seconds left in a 3-2 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers and his go-ahead goal with 1:50 left in a 3-1 win in Game 5 of that series.
"For the guys that know 'Pally' and have been here as long as we have and as long as I have, it's not surprising to us to see him come up clutch in those moments," Stamkos said. " … Pally is a guy that no matter what situation, no matter what stage, he's 'Mr. Reliable.'"
The Lightning might not be four wins from lifting the Cup again without him. That could've been the case had the Seattle Kraken selected him in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft instead of forward Yanni Gourde.
Palat said he had some stressful days at home in Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic, when he was left unprotected and wondered if he'd be back with the Lightning this season.
"It was a little bit weird," Palat said. "There was some chance that Seattle would take me, so we were just waiting. We were just waiting in my hometown and didn't know what's going to happen. Then, Seattle took Yanni. I was happy that I got to stay in Tampa for at least another year."
Palat can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, so his future is unclear again. But he has more pressing matters now.
"It's in my head," he said. "But I'm just trying to focus on the Final and then there's a time for the next step."
Although the Lightning lost an important player in Gourde to the Kraken, it's worked out well for them that Palat has stayed for at least one more run.
"We had so many good players to choose from, ultimately, they probably couldn't go wrong, but 'Pally' has been a guy that, like I've talked about and we've all talked about, is just a warrior mentality out there," Stamkos said. "He's willing to do anything, and he gets rewarded because he plays the game the right way."
One of Palat's strengths is his ability to complement top players. He's gone from playing on the Lightning's "Triplets" line with Tyler Johnson and Kucherov at the start of his career, to playing with Point and Kucherov, to currently skating with Stamkos and Kucherov. That's often meant putting his ego aside while his linemates get most of the accolades.
Cooper has seen since it since he coached Palat as a first-year pro with Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2011-12. They won the Calder Cup together that season.
The difference now is his playoff statistics are bringing more attention to his importance.
"The reason this is so Ondrej Palat is because nobody really pulls him out of the group until you see that he's got the most game-winners in (Lightning) playoff history," Cooper said. "And it took that for people to notice what he does. I think that's a perfect example about Palat, is nobody really notices him except the guys in the room that know how valuable he is to us."
That's undoubtedly the case for the Lightning. When a reporter recently asked Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon about Palat not being one of the team's "stars", Maroon quickly corrected him.
"Have you looked at his stats?" Maroon asked. "I'd call him a star in my eyes. He's a big-time player, steps up in big-time moments and that's what stars do."
