Jets fall to Lightning in shootout, 6-5

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This article was published 18/02/2016 (3522 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite a valiant effort, the Winnipeg Jets leave Tampa Bay with just a single point, losing to the Lightning, 6-5, in a shootout at Amalie Arena Tuesday night.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 25-28-4. The Lightning improve to 31-22-4 with the win.

Victor Hedman, Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos all scored in the final five minutes of the first period to put the homeside up 3-zip, but the Jets rallied back, winning the second period thanks to a goal from defenceman Tyler Myers at the 13:45 mark of the period.

The game turned physical late in the second frame after Bryan Little took a hit by Lightning defenceman Anton Stralman, leaving him laying injured on the ice. He did not return and his status remains unknown. Blake Wheeler eventually dropped the gloves with Stralman and once the smoke had cleared, Tampa was given a two-man advantage but were unable to score on the 5-on-3 power play.

That angst carried into the third period, starting with the ejection of Jets head coach Paul Maurice, who looked to be in a staring contest with the ref just moments before getting the boot. That would set the stage for a six-goal third period.

Alex Killorn would strike for the Lightning first, putting the Bolts up 4-1 just two minutes into the frame. But the Jets replied with four straight goals — two from captain Andrew Ladd, and one each from Mark Scheifele and Mathieu Perreault — to take their first lead of the game, 5-4. That lead would be short-lived, as Tampa tied the game just 20 seconds later with a goal from Nikita Kucherov.

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Overtime settled nothing, sending the game to a shootout where it would last five rounds before Steven Stamkos ended it with a goal to the left top-corner.

Ondrej Pavelec made 21 saves in the loss, while Adrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 36 pucks to earn the win.