Brandon Montour, Kraken earn key OT win vs. Lightning
Brandon Montour scored twice, including the winner at 2:47 of overtime, as the Seattle Kraken defeated the host Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Thursday night.
Kaapo Kakko and Bobby McCann each had a goal and an assist for the Kraken, who snapped a four-game winless streak (0-3-1).
Philipp Grubauer stopped 30 shots as Seattle (32-29-10, 74 points) moved within three points of the Nashville Predators, who hold the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Nashville played New Jersey later on Thursday.
Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, Anthony Cirelli and Corey Perry also scored and Charle-Edouard D'Astous added two helpers for the Lightning (44-21-6, 94 points), who extended their point streak to six games (4-0-2). Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 15 of 19 shots.
The winner came as Tampa Bay's Brandon Hagel was scurrying back to the bench after his stick broke. Montour got the puck in the left-wing corner, faked a pass and slipped a shot between Vasilevskiy's pads.
After a scoreless opening 15 minutes, the teams combined for three goals in a span of 2:54.
The Kraken opened the scoring at 15:18. Freddy Gaudreau took a pass at center ice, skated over the blue line and threaded a pass between two defensemen to send Montour in alone on Vasilevskiy. Montour went to his backhand and lifted the puck into the upper left corner of the net.
Cirelli tied it at 17:01 on a redirection at the left post after Hagel's pass from the top of the right faceoff circle went off a stick and between the legs of two other players.
The Kraken regained the lead at 18:12 as Chandler Stephenson drove the puck into the left-wing corner before spotting Kakko in the slot for a one-timer.
Seattle pulled ahead 3-1 at 3:35 of the second as Adam Larsson's shot from the right point was deflected wide of the net by Kakko, but McMann was there to pick up the loose puck and stuff it inside the right post before Vasilevskiy could react.
The Lightning got a goal back at 5:56 as Darren Raddysh's stretch pass sent Guentzel in on a breakaway during a Seattle line change.
Tampa Bay tied it at 10:18 as Perry, who was shaken up when cross-checked into the boards by Ryker Evans, returned and scored with two seconds left on the man advantage. Perry took a backhanded feed from Guentzel and put a wrist shot from the slot over Grubauer's catching glove.
The Lightning played without captain Victor Hedman, who took a personal leave from the team Wednesday.
Kraken forward Ryan Winterton is also on leave following the death of his older brother, Jacob, to cancer Tuesday.