In what became a scoring frenzy for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, Lightning forward Ondrej Palat joined the fun with a goal of his own in the third period — and it was a doozy.
Tampa Bay was leading 5-3 early in the frame when it entered the offensive zone. A loose puck bounced off referee Marc Joannette at the bottom of the right faceoff circle and went straight to a waiting Palat.
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Wait — it gets weirder. From there, the Czech winger tried to make a pass to the slot — or shoot from a bad angle. The puck bounced off the leg of a backchecking Kasperi Kapanen and past Toronto goalie Frederik Anderson, giving the Bolts a three-goal lead.
Palat's shot goes off Kapanen's leg and in. 6-3 Lightning. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/MCd1SJQM3i
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) October 11, 2019
The goal was Palat's second of the season; his first came in the Lightning's season opener vs. the Florida Panthers. He now has two points through his first four games.
The 28-year-old winger tallied eight goals and 34 points in 64 games last season.
Tampa Bay added another goal three minutes later and went on to win 7-3 in Toronto.