Ducks can’t hold lead, drop OT decision in Tampa

In Tampa, Nikita Kucherov scored with 13 seconds left n regulation on Thursday to force extra time between the Lightning and the visiting Anaheim Ducks.

Anthony Cirelli completed the Lightning rally with a goal in extra time for a 4-3 win.

Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start for Tampa, but was given the hook midway through the second period. He made 10 saves and surrendered three goals.

Brian Elliott made 13 saves in the Tampa win.

“You take pride in that, there’s no doubt, because this is a tough league to win it,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “A ton of credit goes to the players, because it’s hard. … You know we’ve won a couple of Cups and there’s ample opportunity for guys to take a breath and say ‘ok’, but they haven’t, and they keep pushing forward and doing it in different ways.”

Adam Henrique hit a double for the Ducks.

“We made a little adjustment there with [Getzlaf] and Adam and Troy, and it worked out all right,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “‘Getzy’ was feeling it tonight. It’s been a long road trip and the games piled up, but he was still rolling. It’s fun to watch.”

Tampa improved to 45-21-8.

Ross Colton and Alex Killorn scored for Tampa to stake them a to a 2-0 lead.

“The last 10 minutes of the game it seemed like we kept it simple and we had some opportunities,” Killorn said. “‘Kuch’ makes a great shot at the end to tie it up.”

Troy Terry scored for Anaheim to give them a 3-2 lad.

“We don’t love our entire game and I think we have some steps to take to get better,” Killorn said. “We have to find a way to get ourselves ready for the playoffs. But like I said, finding a way to win at the end hopefully can galvanize us and we gain some momentum moving forward.”

The Ducks dropped to 29-33-14.

Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves in the Anaheim loss.