Jon Cooper took just 33 games to become one of three coaches who have reached 500 NHL coaching wins since 1990 with one franchise: Scotty Bowman and Bruce Boudreau were first and second, respectively.
Brandon Hagel and Nick Perbix scored in the third period to help the Lightning come back from two goals down, beat Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in overtime, and prevail 3-2 over Andrei Vasilevskiy who stopped 20 shots.
Tyler Motte
An exciting but scoreless first period was played out between the Lightning and Kings as both teams exchanged solid defensive play to keep the puck from entering either net. Meanwhile, the Lightning continued their dominance of offensive zone play to put pressure on Cam Talbot as they looked for their first goal of the night.
Phillip Danault provided the Kings with their first lead of the night in the second period with a goal from Jordan Spence who fed Danault directly for an easy goal in front of goal.
The Lightning showed signs of life late in the third, as Brandon Hagel displayed his skating ability by fighting off defenders and scoring on Talbot with a backhand shot from Brandon Hagel’s feed – Emil Martinsen was given secondary assist on Hagel’s goal, tying the game at two before overtime began. Nick Perbix secured victory during overtime by scoring off an assist from Brandon Hagel – his first of the season and also marking Jon Cooper as third fastest coach ever behind Scotty Bowman and Bruce Boudreau with only one team victory!
Brandon Hagel
The Lightning were in an early hole at midseason but showed their resilience by turning a game that seemed out of hand around. Brandon Hagel scored the game-winner in overtime for Tampa Bay when he corralled a loose puck at Kings’ blueline backcheck, circled around as Pierre-Luc Dubois and Jordan Spence closed in, speeding up on rush, gained inside edge, drifted toward net before beating Cam Talbot with backhand shot.
The opening period was mostly quiet as both teams exchanged effective defensive plays. Tampa had more possession, yet didn’t create many prime scoring chances.
Anthony Cirelli had appeared to score on a power play late in the second period, only for it to be disapproved when Kings won a challenge for goalie interference. It appeared like an open goal; however, as Cirelli’s stick clipped Talbot while the goalie was down and still on his back.
Nick Perbix
At first, the Kings defense performed admirably. Their positional game, check and front net protection prevented Lightning from creating high-danger opportunities that might pose threats; any that did come close (an attempted rebound goal by Anthony Cirelli was disallowed on goalie interference challenge from Kings).
The Lightning did not capitulate to their opponents’ challenges however; they rallied from two goals down in the third period to win 3-2 and give Jon Cooper his 500th career win. Tyler Motte and Brandon Hagel scored during this period while Nick Perbix ended a 40-game goal drought by scoring with an elegant backhand shot 2:02 into overtime for his inaugural goal of 2019. They will continue their four-game homestand against New Jersey Devils Thursday at Amalie Arena; Jon Cooper now becomes the third-fastest NHL coach behind Scotty Bowman and Bruce Boudreau! Jon Cooper becomes only third fastest coach to reach 500 wins behind Scotty Bowman and Bruce Boudreau!
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy
After an uneventful first period, Los Angeles came storming back in the second to take an early 2-0 advantage. Phillip Danault and Matt Roy scored to propel Los Angeles back into last place in the Western Conference with six straight losses (0-3-3). Cam Talbot made 26 saves.
The Lightning tied the game in the third period when Brandon Hagel and Tyler Motte scored. Nick Perbix ended his 40-game goal drought in overtime with an outstanding backhand shot goal at 2 minutes and two seconds into extra session, thus giving the Lightning victory.
Jon Cooper became only the third-fastest NHL coach to reach 500 wins, surpassing Scotty Bowman and Bruce Boudreau on this road to success. Furthermore, with this win he became the fastest coach ever with one franchise to reach this mark (29th overall in league history). On Thursday against New Jersey Devils Steven Stamkos will reach 900 career points thanks to Hedman’s goal where He assisted on for an assist.
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