The Tampa Bay Lightning are a few games behind the rest of the NHL, but it’s still time to grade every Lightning player’s performance through the first half of the season.

The Lighting were prepared to dress all 18 healthy skaters, but a team rule states that any player who misses a meeting will be benched for the next game. When Point arrived late to TD Garden Tuesday morning, Tampa Bay summoned Finley from Syracuse to fill the empty forward spot.

While Point’s last-minute goal is what everyone will remember, the Lightning won the game in front of the net in other ways. Their first two goals were scored on rebounds of shots flung on net by Darren Raddysh, who became the quickest Lightning defenseman to 50 career points with two primary assists.

This was a high-shot volume, high-chance game that featured terrific goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy and Lukas Dostal. The teams each scored three goals through 60 minutes but easily could have exceeded that total. In the end, the Lightning netted the only goal in the shootout to secure a crucial second point in the standings.

Coach Jon Cooper told media postgame that slow starts plagued his team throughout the three-game road trip that ended Tuesday—Tampa Bay trailed in all three games against the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and Bruins despite finishing the trip with a 1-1-1 record.

The Lightning play their first home game of the second half of the season Thursday night when they host Anaheim.

Stefan Noesen scored a power-play goal in overtime and Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2.

Tampa Bay is back home for a quick two-game home stand after going 1-1-1 on their most recent road-trip. It’s been a busy month for the Bolts and the schedule doesn’t let up until the end of January. Since beating the Lightning 4-1 on Jan 5., the Ducks have gone 1-3-1, scoring just 5 goals in total on their roadtrip.

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Nick Paul (20) knocks down Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei (6) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) Boston Bruins ...

The Ducks, who have been shutout twice in their past three games, beat Tampa Bay at Honda Center in their last meeting, one of their best wins of the season.

Jake Guentzel, who won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2017, had two assists to become the second player in Lightning history with at least 20 goals and 40 points in his first 40 games with the franchise. Guentzel signed a seven-year deal with the Lightning in the offseason.

Brayden Point scored with 52 seconds to play and the Tampa Bay Lightning snapped a four-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul also scored for Tampa Bay while Darren Raddysh finished with two ...