National Hockey League
Tampa Bay 2, Los Angeles 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Mike Leggo, Rob Martell
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 19092

TAMPA -- Centers Jonathan Marchessault and Valtteri Filppula scored Tampa Bay's first shootout goals of the season, giving the Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the tiebreaking skills competition on Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.

"The goalies are outstanding in this league, and you need big-time shots to score on these goalies," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of the two shootout goals. "Those were big-time moves."

The Lightning (11-9-3) had gone 0-for-6 in two shootouts before Wednesday, but Marchessault and Filppula beat Kings goalie Jonathan Quick for goals after a 1-1 tie through overtime.

Lightning goalie Ben Bishop stopped two of three shots from the Kings (13-8-1) after making 37 saves entering the shootout. The Lightning finished a three-game sweep in their homestand, picking up momentum after a slow start.

"Today wasn't our best game, but that's what good teams do: They find ways to win when they don't play their best," Bishop said. "It was nice in front of these fans for a good night. To win three in a row feels really nice."

Neither team scored until early in the third period, when Lightning center Tyler Johnson made a move skating to his right and beat Quick to the left, giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead with 14:03 left. It was Johnson's fourth goal of the season, coming in his first game back after missing time with an upper-body injury. After going scoreless in October, Johnson has four goals in November, and Wednesday's was one of his biggest.

Los Angeles tied the game with 5:23 left, as left winger Milan Lucic scored his seventh goal of the season, a well-screened shot that went through center Brian Boyle and slipped between the legs of Bishop, who had stopped the first 31 Los Angeles shots as he sought back-to-back shutouts for the first time in his career.

"We need to start executing and finishing off our chances -- we had more than plenty tonight," Lucic said. "To come out with one goal with the amount of chances and opportunities we were able to create, everyone has to look at themselves ... in this league to win games, everyone needs to contribute."

The Kings and Lightning had both struggled in low-scoring games this season -- Los Angeles had scored at least two goals in 18 straight after opening the year 0-3 while scoring one or less; the Lightning were 0-8-1 coming in when scoring one or no goals.

Bishop had gone five straight periods without allowing a goal before Lucic tied the game late in the third, but this wasn't a night to salvage just one point, he said.

"You don't make the playoffs by being a .500 hockey team," Lucic said of the five-game road trip. "Give (Bishop) credit. He played well. Big body, stood his ground, didn't give the shooters a lot of net to shoot at. That's why he's one of the premier goalies in the league."

NOTES: The Lightning got C Tyler Johnson back after missing three games with an upper-body injury, though they're still without three key forwards in LW Ondrej Palat (out seven games, lower body), C Cedric Paquette (out four games, upper body) and LW Jonathan Drouin (four games, undisclosed). ... Tampa Bay went with 11 forwards and seven defenseman, dressing D Luke Witkowski and making RW Joel Verman a healthy scratch ... Los Angeles had D Derek Forbort and C Jordan Weal as healthy scratches ... The two teams play twice this season, with the series wrapping up in 11 days in Los Angeles on Dec. 6. ... Los Angeles finished a five-game road trip, heading home for their next four, starting with Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Tampa Bay has four of its next five on the road, starting with a game Friday at the Washington Capitals.
Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Tampa Bay
Milan Lucic 1 Points Tyler Johnson 1
Milan Lucic 1 Goals Tyler Johnson 1
Jeff Carter 1 Assists Jonathan Marchessault 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jonathan Quick .967 Save Percentage Ben Bishop .974
Jonathan Quick 29 Saves Ben Bishop 37
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 38 1 0-0 3-3 6 28
Tampa Bay 30 2 0-3 0-0 0 34
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Lightning have a W/L % of .455 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Kings have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .625 after a loss.