FIVE OVERTIMES
It’s 4th longest in postseason history
Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point celebrates his winning goal Tuesday that beat Columbus, 3-2, in a fifth overtime of Game 1 of their first-round NHL playoff series in Toronto.
Brayden Point scored 10:27 into the fifth overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2, Tuesday in Toronto. It was the fourth-longest game in Stanley Cup playoff history.
Point scored from just above the left circle, beating Joonas Korpisalo after the goaltender made an NHLrecord 85 saves. Point also scored way back in the first period of Game 1 of the bestof-seven series.
Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy also was outstanding for Tampa Bay, making 61 stops. The teams combined for 151 shots — most in a NHL game since the league began officially tracking the statistic in 1955-56.
“It’s tiring for sure, but then it gets fun at some point,” Point said. “I don’t know how many guys played a game like that, that long. It was an exciting one.”
The teams are meeting in the first round for the second consecutive seasons, with the Lightning looking to rebound from being swept 16 months ago by the underdog Blue Jackets, who became the first No. 8 seed to oust the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy in four games.
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored on the power play and Oliver Bjorkstrand added a goal late in the second period to give Columbus — the No. 7 seed in the East — a pair of shortlived leads in regulation. Yanni Gourde had the other goal for the second-seeded Lightning.
Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday.
While there is no denying that the early exit last year has been a source of motivation for Jon Cooper and the Lightning, the coach insists this series is about more than redemption.
After all, both teams have different looks, with Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene no longer with Columbus, and Pat Maroon, Kevin Shattenkirk and Blake Coleman now in Tampa Bay’s lineup.
The Lightning played Game 1 without injured captain Steven Stamkos. But Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman, who appeared to twist an ankle in the round-robin finale Saturday against Philadelphia, had an assist on Tampa Bay’s first goal.
Other game
Flames 3, Stars 2: Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson snapped a tie after Dillon Dube scored twice in the first period as the Flames beat Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta. Andersson scored on a rush with four minutes left in the second period.
Elsewhere
The Eastern Conference playoff opener between the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes was postponed Tuesday night after the previous game between Tampa Bay and Columbus in Toronto headed into a fifth overtime. Game 1 of the series will start at 11 a.m. Wednesday.