TAMPA BAY — Jimmy Hayes, a would-be power forward with his batteries all but fried already in a new season, delivered the Bruins to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Lightning here Thursday night when he connected for a goal as Boston’s 10th shooter in the shootout.
Without a goal all season, and perilously close to being pulled out of the lineup, Hayes delivered the 2 points when he walked in on Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and picked the top right corner with a doorstep forehander.
The win, a season-high third straight, gave the Bruins a 3-1 record on a four-game road trip that begin with a dispiriting 5-2 loss last Wednesday vs. the Rangers. It ended with wins in Detroit (1-0), in Sunrise (2-1), and here, inside a sold-out Amalie Arena (19,092), with both Jimmy Hayes and Riley Nash (also without a goal all year) connecting in the shootout.
“I saw some of our guys, seeing what they were doing,’’ said Hayes, who turned to backup goalie Zane McIntrye, he of just over a week of NHL experience, for advice during the protracted shootout round. “He told me to be a little patient, so I just went in there and went with a confident move and . . . beat him.’’
In the shootout’s fourth round, moments after Brayden Point struck for what could have been the Bolts’ winning goal, it was Nash, normally Hayes’s center, who popped in the equalizing goal to keep the Bruins alive in the shootout. He connected with a backhand at the left post, and the next six Tampa shooters failed to get one by Tuukka Rask (owner of all six Boston victories this season).
Meanwhile, the likes of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Dominic Moore, and Austin Czarnik all failed to beat Vasilevskiy, setting up Hayes in the No. 10 hole.
“You’ve just got to look at your bench, and look at who’s next,’’ said coach Claude Julien, explaining why he turned to Hayes. “At one point, you have to go with your gut feeling. Jimmy Hayes is a pretty good shooter. He’s one of those guys who can really let the puck go. He’s got a quick release. At that point, even if he was No. 10, I felt good about putting him out there. For some reason, I had a gut feeling he was going to do it. He didn’t disappoint.’’
Brandon Carlo, Ryan Spooner, and David Pastrnak scored the goals in regulation for the Bruins, who opened with one of their strongest first periods of the season. Carlo and Spooner (power-play goal) connected for goals in the opening 11 minutes for a 2-0 lead.
The Bolts shaved a goal (Victor Hedman) off the lead, 2-1, before the period ended, but all in all it was an impressive opening for the Bruins. Hurt by a rash of penalties of late, the Bruins were far cleaner in all three zones — essential when facing one of the most potent power-play units in the league. When the night was over, the Bolts had two power-play goals, the Bruins allowing them only three chances on the advantage.
It was the fourth straight gamein which the Bruins scored first. In the opening six games of the season, they gave up the first strike. Like all clubs, much easier to play with the lead.
“Our game’s been a lot better in the last little while,’’ noted Julien. “Since Tuukka’s come back, our whole game’s gotten better. We are getting good goaltending. And we are getting better as a team. We are playing harder. We are playing smarter. And tonight our power play is more like the power play we are used to seeing.’’
After going a league worst 2 for 32 on the power play in the first nine games, the Bruins went 1 for 3 (the Spooner strike for the 2-0 lead). Overall, even on the failed attempts, they showed better puck control and developed decent threats, some that didn’t necessarily make it to the net.
It appeared the Bolts pulled even, 2-2, only 1:43 into the second on an Ondrej Palat goal. But video replay showed that Palat booted the puck into the net soccer style — a textbook case of “distinct kicking motion.’’ The Bruins still had hold of the 2-1 lead.
Just over three minutes later, at 4:38, the Bruins moved to the 3-1 lead on a Bergeron pass off the left wing wall that was intended to connect with a breaking Carlo. Instead, the relay banged off Pastrnak’s backside and ricocheted by Vasilevskiy. Just back from a two-game suspension, Pastrnak had his team-leading sixth goal of the season (in only eight games).
Another power play, this one with Dominic Moore in the box for holding Steven Stamkos, again pulled the Bolts to within a goal (3-2) with 8:30 gone in the second. Diminutive Tyler Johnson drilled a wrister to the top shelf, short side on Rask, after Anton Stralman led him to the right wing faceoff dot with a velvety feed from the slot.
It remained a 3-2 Boston lead into the third period, but the Bolts had the momentum.
The Bolts finally pulled even, 3-3, with 10:04 gone in the third when Johnson tipped home his second goal of the night off a Braydon Coburn one-time slapper. It went to video review, with Johnson initially suspected of lifting his stick too high on the tip in the slot. Johnson’s stick was deemed under the crossbar, good goal.
Neither of the shootout goals will register on the scoring resume for Hayes or Nash. They still stand 0-0—0 after 10 games in the new season. But perhaps it’s a start.
“Sure nice to be able to contribute in a way you want to contribute in,’’ said Hayes. “It’s been an up and down year. But I have to continue to build off it and find the back of the net.’’
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
