In Tampa, Jordan Staal gave the Carolina Hurricanes what the needed most, a Game 3 
win, 3-2, with an overtime strike at 5:57.
The win makes the series 2-1 in favor of the Lightning.
“I’m always proud of the group,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Whatever happens to them, they find a way to focus on the game and just go do their job, and that’s what happened tonight.”
Staal deflected a shot from Sebastian Aho off the left face-off circle.
Petr Mrazek got the start for the Canes and made 35 saves to earn the win.
“It’s fun to play, especially the playoffs. Those moments are forever,” Mrazek said. “You’re trying to do the best that you can. Win the game and help the team.”
The victory assures the Canes of getting home again.
Game 4 of the series will be in Tampa on Saturday.
Brett Pesce and Aho scored in the middle frame to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead; it was the first time in the series the Canes held a lead.
“I’m just so proud of everyone on our team,” Pesce said. “We get punched in the face over and over again … tough bounces … and we just stick with it. Kudos to our team and [Brind’Amour] to keep on relaying that message. We just kept at it and the power play came up big for us.”
Aho had two assists in the game, including the primary assist on the winner.
“It feels great, but at the same time, this is our first win in the series,” Aho said. “We just have to keep going and going for Game 4 and just do it over and over again and trust our system.”
Brayden Point got the Bolts on the board near the midway point of the second period to make it 2-1.
“We’ve been in spots like this before,” Point said. “We played a good game. I think it might be different if we felt like we didn’t play a good game and they won. For the most part, I liked our game, I liked our compete. Give Carolina credit, they played hard as well. They got this one. We’ve got to be sharp for the next one.”
Before the period ended, Alex Killorn tied the game, 2-2.
Both Lightning goals came off the power play; Tampa Bay went 2-for-3 with the extra skater.
“We’ve had a pretty good series here,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “I think our team has gotten better every single game, and that’s what I like. … We just have to keep going. You can’t hang your head on these. You’ve just got to turn the page and go to the next one. The playoffs are one big [darn] roller coaster.”
Carolina went 1-for-2 went it counted most.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves in the loss.
“I think we were pushing the play, I think we were a lot better offensively,” Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman said. “We were winning our battles, creating some havoc. There were a lot of things we did well, it just didn’t go our way tonight. If we bring the same mentality into the next game, I like our chances.”
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