Hedman breaks tie in 3rd, Lightning defeat Blackhawks to end 3-game skid

CHICAGO – Victor Hedman scored the go-ahead goal at 11:53 of the third period, and the Tampa Bay Lightning ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Thursday.

Hedman broke a 2-2 tie when he picked up the puck in front of the net after Erik Cernak’s shot rebounded off the end boards. Brandon Hagel scored into the empty net at 19:11 for the 4-2 final.

“I think overall we played a real solid game,” Hedman said. “We kept plugging away, and I thought we were the overall better team.”

Brayden Point had a goal and two assists for the Lightning (7-6-4), who were shut out in their previous two games. Jonas Johansson made 13 saves.

“It’s always nice to score,” Point said. “Two games we went there with no [goals]. For the most part, I liked our game tonight. We just kept playing our game. I thought for the most part we played a pretty good game tonight. I didn’t think we panicked.

“We’ve been giving up some leads here, and it kind of snowballs on us. But tonight I thought we didn’t panic. We kept playing the same way, and we were able to get the win.”

Petr Mrazek made 26 saves for the Blackhawks (5-9-0). Connor Bedard had no points and one shot on goal after getting four goals and two assists in his previous two games.

“I thought the first period we had an excellent period and start and played fast and played behind,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of extended [defensive]-zone time. I think in the second period it was a little bit part on our part and them probably turning it up. I think we saw that in the third especially. I thought they had the puck way too much in our zone. We just couldn’t get it back.”

Lukas Reichel scored his first goal of the season on the power play to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 12:59 of the first period. Reichel tipped in Philipp Kurashev’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle.

“I didn't even know that I scored,” Reichel said. I thought [Corey] Perry had a stick on it, so I didn't even know. But then I was like, 'Yeah … right.'”

Point tied it 1-1 at 4:40 of the second period on the power play, tipping in Hedman’s shot from the high slot. It was the Lightning’s first goal in 146 minutes and 50 seconds, dating to Nov. 9 when they lost 5-3 at home to the Blackhawks.

“When Brayden Point scored that first goal, then I think things changed for us,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “Give their goalie credit; I thought he played really well tonight. But we just kept coming. Eventually you do that, you don’t sacrifice your end of the ice, and good things will happen. It did tonight.”

Mikhail Sergachev scored from the left point through traffic at 9:01 to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead. It was Sergachev’s first goal of the season.

The Blackhawks took advantage of a turnover to tie the game at 2:09 of the third period. Perry picked up the puck, skated into the offensive zone and scored from the side of the net after return passes from Boris Katchouk and Jason Dickinson.

Hedman, a defenseman, found himself in the unfamiliar position of being in front of the net when he scored the go-ahead goal.

“Yeah, it’s easy to be a forward,” he said. “You get pucks in the crease like that. No, that was huge.”

The Blackhawks had a season-low 15 shots on goal, and only two in the third period.

“Yeah, but at the same time, I think we passed up a lot of shots,” Perry said. “Especially in that second period, we had some good shifts and we tried to maybe be a little too cute where some of those pucks have to get on net.

“They're a good team. When they get the lead, they kind of sit on it and play strong and there's not much room out there. Those are learning curves that we can build along the way.”

NOTES: Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli left the game after he blocked a shot by Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser at 1:26 of the second period. Cooper said he was unsure of Cirelli’s status. “He’s a tough kid,” Cooper said. “The fact he couldn’t come back is a little worrisome.” … Hedman scored his 147th NHL goal to tie Fredrik Olausson for fourth on the NHL’s all-time list among Swedish defensemen. He trails Nicklas Lidstrom (264), Erik Karlsson (183) and Borje Salming (150).