Follow @johnpgove

No team needed the holiday break for rest and recuperation more than the Tampa Bay Lightning. The four days off provided time for some injured players to continue to heal without their team suffering any more in the standings.

With Nikita Kucherov (missed last six games), Ondrej Palat (missed last five games) and Vladislav Namestnikov (missed last two games) returning to the ice Wednesday night, the Bolts took on the division-leading Canadiens to kick off fight straight games on home ice.

After a shaky 36 games to start the 2016-17 season, Tampa Bay was in desperate need of a big performance in hopes of turning things around and getting back into the postseason picture. The Lightning did just that in dramatic fashion, as they erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and eventually defeated Montreal 4-3 in overtime.

Erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third period against the best goaltender in the entire NHL can be viewed as a quite impossible task. However, the Lightning never took their feet off the gas peddle. They outshot Montreal in both the second and third period while looking like the more hungry team for most of the game.

Once the team was able to push the game to overtime, it was apparent that Tampa Bay had all the momentum and the upper hand. Tyler Johnson scored his second goal of the night a minute and a half into the overtime period to give his team a much-needed victory.

Johnson has been playing very well recently which is something the Lightning would love to see more of going forward. Not only did he record Tampa's first and last goal of the game, he has points in four of his last seven games.

Both Kucherov and Palat played very well in their returns from injury. Kucherov recorded assists on Johnson's first goal and Victor Hedman's goal. Palat also assisted on Johnson's first goal but more importantly scored a goal of his own to tie the game with 3:30 left. It goes without saying how much the Lightning will benefit from having these two gentlemen back on the ice.

It may sound a bit cliche, but Tampa Bay got exactly what they needed coming off their four-day break. Any win is great, but a dramatic comeback victory against the leaders of your division is just that much sweeter. The Lightning made a statement that they are ready to fight to get back into the playoff discussion and currently sit one point behind third place in the Atlantic Division.

The Bolts will look to make it two in a row as they take on the streaking Maple Leafs tonight at home for the second game of a back-to-back.

Join the Discussion: » 23 Comments » Post New Comment

» A realistic approach to following Calgary's upcoming prospect camp

» Flames stuck in neutral as season draws closer

» What about goaltending?

» Should we be concerned about the defense?

» Premature "Hot Seat" Talk