For the second straight game, Ondrej Palat cashed in the game-winning goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning – this time to help his team to a 4-1 victory and an Eastern Conference Second Round 2-1 series lead over the Boston Bruins Wednesday.
Palat gave the Lightning an early 2-0 cushion by scoring a pair of goals in the opening 3:19 of the game, en route to earning the game's first star. Only six of 16 NHL players in league history have scored two goals faster in the first five minutes of a Stanley Cup Playoffs game.
According to head coach Jon Cooper, it was just another day in the life of No. 18's nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic.
Cooper with a laugh when asked if he can explain what Ondrej Palat means to this team: “No. I can’t. He’s a beast. You know those guys that kind of go under the radar and don’t get the credit they deserve but they don’t seek it and they don’t care? That’s Ondrej Palat.” #TBLvsBOS
— #GoBolts (@TBLightning) May 3, 2018
Palat picked up his fourth goal this postseason and the 18th of his Stanley Cup Playoffs career, which moved him into a tie with Brad Richards for sixth-most goals in Lightning franchise postseason history.
The Lightning can extend their series lead when puck drops on Game 4 Friday at 7 p.m. ET at TD Garden before the series shifts back to Tampa Bay Sunday.