Lightning can indeed strike the same place twice, and quickly.
Ondrej Palat found himself in good company thanks to a pair of early goals he scored in Wednesday's Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Palat struck twice to put the Lightning up 2-0 just 3:19 into the first period, giving him the fastest pair of goals to start an NHL playoff game in over two decades.
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The 27-year-old got things going at the 1:47 mark, receiving the puck from Tyler Johnson and sending it over a sprawling Tuukka Rask from point-blank range.
Palat then doubled his and his team's tally just 92 seconds later, tipping in a Victor Hedman shot.
The pair of goals represents the seventh-fastest a single player has netted twice to start a postseason contest. Dick Duff of the Toronto Maple Leafs holds the record with two goals in the first 1:08 of a 1963 playoff game, while the others to score two faster than Palat include Wayne Gretzky, Dino Ciccarelli, Tony Amonte, Gord Labossiere and Petr Nedved.
No NHL player has notched a quicker pair of playoff goals to start a game since 1996.
Ondrej Palat of the @TBLightning scored twice in the opening 3:19 of Game 3, the seventh-fastest two goals by one player to begin a playoff game in NHL history. #NHLStats #TBLvsBOS #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/F2dcGyzEJo
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 3, 2018
The quick start boosted the Lightning to a lead they would never relinquish. Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins hope shortly after Palat's pair, but Anthony Cirelli and Steven Stamkos also got themselves on the board as Tampa Bay won 4-1 on the night and grabbed a 2-1 series lead.
Palat has four goals and four assists through eight games in the 2018 postseason.