3 goals in final 3 minutes spark Lightning's 3rd-period comeback

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Jan 1, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The Lightning opened the new year finding a way to get two points on the road.

They went into the final minutes Thursday night in Los Angeles down a goal against a Kings team that’s one of the league’s best in closing out games.

There wasn’t much space or scoring chances throughout the night, but the Lightning maneuvered their way to their sixth straight win with a comeback 5-3 victory at Crypto.com Arena, scoring three goals in the final 3:19 left in regulation.

Tampa Bay was able to put pucks in the back of the net from in close down the stretch.

“We kind of attacked the net down low and probably got a couple pucks that went to our sticks that earlier in the game weren’t,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “But that’s two tight-checking teams, two of the best defensive teams in the league. So the face that there were eight goals scored tonight is probably a little surprising. They’ve got a heck of a team over there, and we feel pretty fortunate that we pulled this one out.”

The Lightning (24-13-3) hold the top point percentage in the Atlantic, won their second straight back-to-back and have points in their last six road games (5-0-1).

They are 13-4-2 on the road this season, their .725 road point percentage tied with Montreal for best in the Eastern Conference.

Center Anthony Cirelli recovered from a rare defensive-zone miscue; his turnover led to Los Angeles forward Kevin Fiala’s go-ahead goal on the power play at the 1:37 mark in the third. Cirelli tied the score at 3, cleaning up a loose puck in the paint, scooping a backhand shot over the pad of Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper with 3:19 left in regulation.

Gage Goncalves, who recently moved up from a fourth-line role into the middle six, scored the winner with 1:41 to play. Goncalves followed up his initial miss from the left side, wrapping around the net and getting a puck from Guentzel back on his stick, flipping it up off Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson and in. He has points in five of his last six games.

“I think we just kept pushing,” Cirelli said. “We knew what kind of worked and we just had to keep going. Obviously, my bad, my screwup on the PK, not getting that down the ice, and it bites us there. But the guys pushed, and just tried to keep getting pucks to the net, keep getting guys there and lucky to get a couple in there.”

Nikita Kucherov then sealed the result with an empty-net goal with 45 seconds left.

Lightning center Brayden Point scored the Lightning’s first two goals, giving him six goals and 13 points in his last 11 games.

Point opened scoring on the power play, his first on the man advantage since Oct. 14, after the Kings were flummoxed by a different look on the power play.

The Lightning set up with Guentzel along the right halfwall, the position where Kucherov usually plays, and Kucherov was in Guentzel’s position down low.

The Kings clearly were confused by the look, as Guentzel passed the puck to Kucherov below the right circle and Kucherov quickly returned it back. Guentzel then was able to skate in unchallenged to the right hash, and when Kings defenders took a step toward him, it freed Point for an open look along the opposite post for a goal 3:34 into the game.

The Kings took control with two goals within a one-minute, 31-second stretch, giving them a 2-1 lead going into the second period. Declan Carlile’s defensive zone turnover led to Jeff Malott’s equalizer 4:43 into the game. Then, after goaltender Jonas Johansson made back-to-back saves, his kickout of Corey Perry’s shot in front went right to Andrei Kuzmenko to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.

But the Lightning held Los Angeles to just one shot — the Kings missed the net nine times and had six attempts blocked in the period — which allowed them to grind their way back into the game.

Point always talks about how he’s at his best when he’s keeping his feet moving, and that’s what he did on his tying goal with 1:53 remaining in the second period.

Point took an outlet pass from J.J. Moser and picked up speed through the neutral zone and turned the corner on Drew Doughty, wrapping around the back of the net. Point lost the puck behind the net, but stayed with the play, charging to the net as Darren Raddysh gathered the puck and found Point in front.

Johansson improved to 7-2-1 on the road this season with a 2.30 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. He made 17 saves on 20 shots, none more important than the stop he got on Alex Laferriere’s breakaway early in the third with the score tied at 2.