The Detroit Red Wings were less than six minutes away from taking commanding 3-1 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning -- then, The Triplets struck.
Well two of ‘em, to be specific. In a remarkable 77-second span, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat scored to erase Detroit’s 2-0 lead and send Game 4 into OT, while also sending the Joe Louis faithful into a stunned silence.
The goals:
While all three of the triplets -- Johnson, Palat and Nikita Kucherov -- have made significant contributions tonight, it’s Johnson that may have etched himself into Lightning lore with a performance to remember. The diminutive forward, who tied Steve Stamkos for the team scoring lead (72 points) this season, scored his third of the series to cut Detroit’s lead in half, then set up Palat with a terrific centering pass to even the score.
The goals were the first Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek allowed in 100 minutes of action, after shutting out the Bolts in Game 4.