Lightning come from behind to defeat Devils in OT

NEWARK, N.J. --Tyler Johnson scored 1:16 into overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied for a 7-6 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Wednesday.

Johnson scored on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle after taking a pass from Ondrej Palat.
"Ryan McDonagh and Palat made tremendous plays (on the winner)," Johnson said. "I kind of got lost in the slot, and everyone was just kind of down and out, and Ondrej made a great play to me. I was just able to put it in."
WATCH: [All Lightning vs. Devils highlights]
Palat had two goals and an assist, Brayden Point and Johnson each had a goal and two assists, and Anthony Cirelli and Mathieu Joseph each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (6-4-2), who trailed 5-3 early in the third period. Curtis McElhinney made 36 saves.
"When Ondrej has confidence, has the puck, and plays big, he's my favorite player," Johnson said. "I love playing with him and watching him play. He's probably been our best player this season."
Kyle Palmieri had a hat trick, Jesper Bratt scored twice, and Cory Schneider made 16 saves for the Devils (2-5-3).

"I'm probably not going to say a whole lot," Schneider said. "My teammates played well enough to win, and we deserved to win that game. We scored six goals and should win going away. The difference tonight was in net, so the game speaks for itself."
Palmieri's third goal tied it 6-6 tie with Schneider pulled for a sixth attacker and eight seconds remaining in the third period.
The Lightning lost 4-1 at the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
"We played two teams with a nothing-to-lose mentality the past two nights, and in a way that's something we can adopt," said defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, in his first season with Tampa Bay, which had an NHL-high 128 points last season. "I think it's a different season for a lot of these guys, including me. We're not going to be the team they were last year, and the sooner we start to come to grips with that, I think we'll get past the living-on-what-happened last year mentality, assuming that things are going to go our way."
Palat had given the Lightning a 6-5 lead with 3:57 left in the period.

Sami Vatanen scored at 1:13 of the third to give the Devils a 5-3 lead.
Jan Rutta made it 5-4 on a slap shot from the point at 2:45 before Joseph made it 5-5 on a wrist shot that deflected in off the skate of New Jersey forward Taylor Hall at 7:45.
"We're kind of battling our own fans at this point," Hall said. "We're 1-for-3 on the power play and getting booed. It's a tied game and we are getting booed. That's a tough environment to play in, especially when you are home. I know when we are playing somewhere and their fans start booing, it's a fun environment for the away team to play in."
Bratt's second goal of the game gave the Devils a 4-3 lead at 13:16 of the second period.

Point gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead at 11:48 before Palmieri scored his second of the game on a tip-in from the slot at 12:17 for a 3-3 tie.
"I thought the [Palat-Point-Johnson] line was great tonight," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They were on it all night and deserved everything they got."
The line combined for nine points (four goals, five assists) and a plus-9 rating.
Bratt made it 2-2 at 6:05 of the second.
Alex Killorn's power-play goal gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead with 2:45 left in the first period.
Palmieri scored a power-play goal at 1:10 of the first period to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.
Palat tied it 1-1 on a wrist shot from the right circle at 9:28.

They said it

"Last year there were times we wouldn't play that good but win easily, but this year it's a little different. It's a different season, and we have a lot of different guys. But I don't want to keep talking about last season." -- Lightning forward Ondrej Palat
"I understand the fans' frustration. After the game, if they are booing us losing, that's fine. You want to feed off the energy of your crowd and not let it affect you, but sometimes it does." -- Devils forward Taylor Hall
"I just have to keep going. I was working hard in practice and felt really good all week with all this time off (the Devils last played on Friday). It's disappointing not to translate it." -- Devils goalie Cory Schneider

Need to know

Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (lower body) and forward Pat Maroon (upper body), who were injured in the game against New York on Tuesday, were placed on injured reserve. ... Shattenkirk had two assists in 21:06 of ice time. ... Devils forward Wayne Simmonds had three assists and five shots in 18:13. ... New Jersey defenseman Andy Greene had two assists and three blocked shots on his 37th birthday. ... Palmieri's hat trick was his first as a member of the Devils and the second of his NHL career. He had one for the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 27, 2013.

What's next

Lightning: At the New York Islanders on Friday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, SUN, NHL.TV)
Devils: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG+2, NBCSP, NHL.TV)