WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Tampa Bay Lightning overtime hero Ondrej Palat figures he had the easy job Friday night while two others did all the heavy lifting.

The speedy left winger finished a three-on-one break with center Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman by firing the puck by goalie Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec just 36 seconds into a brief but wildly entertaining three-on-three overtime session to hand the Lightning a 4-3 win over the Jets.

It was the second goal of the season for the 24-year-old Czech-born forward.

"Stammer made a nice defensive play on the other end and we went on a three-on-one and Heddy and Stammer made really nice passes and I just tapped it in," Palat said.

The Lightning trio botched an early rush and Jets center Bryan Little dashed away on a breakaway, only to be stopped cold on a pad save by Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop. Hedman, Stamkos and Palat stormed back and orchestrated a beauty to give the Lightning two points in the standings.

The Lightning raised their record to 5-2-1. The Jets picked up one point with the overtime loss and moved to 4-2-1.

Palat was thrilled he got the nod from coach Jon Cooper to begin overtime.

"Coach told me to go with Stammer and I'm just happy to score the goal," he said. "We had speed and that's what you have to do on three-on-three."

Jets right winger Blake Wheeler had an unassisted, short-handed goal early in the third period to tie the score 3-3. With Jets defenseman Toby Enstrom in the penalty box for holding a stick, Wheeler raced down the ice and behind the Tampa Bay net, stripped the puck from Bishop, spun in front and fired into the open cage just 77 seconds into the period.

"It was a bad break for us," said Hedman, who finished with two assists. "Bishop fanned on it a little bit and we told each other that we were going to get it back. Bish has bailed us out many times over the years, so it was our turn."

Right winger Nikolaj Ehlers scored his second goal of the season for Winnipeg and right winger Drew Stafford produced his third.

Ehlers hit the post on a breakaway with just seven seconds left in regulation and the game went to overtime.

"Oh my God, that was obviously a bad read. I didn't see him at all. He's a good, little player," said Hedman, who got burned on the play. "It's the first time I've seen him play. Great speed and obviously he scored a goal. He's going to be a good player in this league and obviously you pay more attention to him."

Defenseman Braydon Coburn and center Cedric Paquette each scored their first goals of the season for the Lightning.

Center Vladislav Namestnikov gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead midway through the second period with his third goal of the year.

Pavelec stopped 27 shots and Bishop, who has started all eight games this season, had 33 saves.

The Jets hadn't played since Sunday but came out of the gate attacking one of the Eastern Conference's top squads.

"Tough game, tough game," Pavelec said. "We haven't played for a long time, but I think we had a really good first period. We slowed down in the second. There was scoring chances on both sides. You know, it was fun to play. We got one point, we take it and we move on."

Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said Wheeler's play to produce the tying goal -- and his ninth point of the season -- demonstrates how far his game has come.

"I think he's just a real mature, high-end pro now," Maurice said. "He just plays that way every single night.

"When you get a guy that's just that darn fast, he is so explosive out of the hole -- his goal tonight, there's not too many guys in the league that can cover that much ice in that short a period of time."

NOTES: Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos suited up in his 500th NHL game Friday. Just 11 days ago, he registered his 500th point, a power-play goal against Boston. ... Winnipeg LW and captain Andrew Ladd is just two games shy of 700 career games. ... Lightning associate coach Rick Bowness is a former Jets player (1980-81) and Winnipeg assistant coach (1984-1987). ... Winnipeg second-year C Adam Lowry set a career high with nine hits Sunday against St. Louis. Lowry led the team during his rookie season with 256 hits, which ranked 12th in the NHL. ... Lightning C Brian Boyle didn't feel well at the morning skate and was a late scratch. D Nikita Nesterov was a healthy scratch. ... D Adam Pardy, D Paul Postma and RW Anthony Peluso, all healthy, sat for Winnipeg.