Lightning 4, Kraken 3 (OT): Hedman Splits the Defense

October 15, 2026 - Tampa - Matty Beniers had just tied it with 4:19 left, a tip off Vince Dunn. Overtime was 3-on-3. Victor Hedman still had the puck at the point, still had a step on the top man, and still had to beat Philipp Grubauer from close range.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in overtime at Benchmark International Arena. Tampa Bay is 5-2-0, 4-0-0 at home, five wins in six. Seattle is 5-2-1 after three in a row. Shots were 35-27 Tampa Bay. Attendance was 19,092. Ryan Winterton, Frederick Gaudreau, Dominic James, Emil Lilleberg, Ville Ottavainen, and Brandon Montour are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Brandon Hagel scored twice. Ilya Mikheyev scored. Hedman scored the winner at 2:07 of overtime from Pontus Holmberg. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 24 of 27. Jared McCann scored. Beniers scored. Grubauer stopped 31 of 35.

Winterton, Hagel twice, then McCann on the power play

Winterton opened it at 5:43. Gaudreau forced Lilleberg into a turnover behind the net and flipped it to Winterton in front, the NHL recap said. 1-0.

Hagel tied it at 16:53. He got behind Berkly Catton, took Brayden Point's pass, and finished his own rebound, Jake Guentzel the other assist. He scored again at 3:38 of the second, a wrist from the top of the left circle off Anthony Cirelli's drop, James the other helper. Glove side. 2-1. Jon Cooper told NHL.com Hagel stirs the drink, and when he is going like that the room jumps on his back. Five goals in three games.

McCann tied it 2-2 at 2:54 of the third on the power play, a one-timer from the low slot off Jordan Eberle, Chandler Stephenson the other assist. Stephenson is unlinked. McCann told NHL.com they started playing behind the defense and made it hard for the goalie to see pucks.

Mikheyev's 100th, Beniers' 200th, Hedman's first since February

Mikheyev made it 3-2 at 9:58. He took the puck off Ottavainen in front and poked it past Grubauer. The NHL recap called it his 100th NHL goal. Beniers tied it at 15:41, a redirection of Dunn after an offensive-zone faceoff. Beniers told NHL.com nobody flinched. Ten minutes to tie it. The NHL recap said it was his 200th NHL point (84 goals, 116 assists).

Hedman scored at 2:07 of overtime. The clock had 2:53 left in the five-minute extra session. The AP recap had him crossing the blue line, splitting the defense, and tapping it through Grubauer's legs as the goalie tried to poke it away. Hedman told NHL.com it had been a while since he played 3-on-3 like this, he was open, and he trusted his legs. It was his first goal since Feb. 28 against Buffalo. He played 33 games last season, then took a leave to prioritize his mental health and missed the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, the NHL recap said.

Cooper told NHL.com Victor is going to have his name in the rafters, and you want nights like that remembered. A long fight back. Lane Lambert told NHL.com a point was good after trailing in the third, and game four of a long road trip starts to get fatiguing. Montour left in the second with a lower-body injury and did not return.

Vasilevskiy earned his 374th win, tying John Vanbiesbrouck for 19th in NHL history, the NHL recap said. James had an assist in 15:25 in his season debut after a hand injury. The AP recap said the last time Tampa Bay opened 4-0-0 at home was 2020-21, when they started 6-0.

AthX Engine on a 17.80 overtime night

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Hagel at 11.60 (two goals, six shots). Mikheyev is 5.80. Hedman is 5.20. Vasilevskiy is 9.00 (win, 24 saves, three goals against). Grubauer's overtime loss is 8.10. Tampa Bay's team line is 17.80. Seattle's overtime loss is 8.60. Chicago also landed at 17.80 in a 4-3 overtime win over Winnipeg. Hagel's 11.60 beat that game's top skater, so this one is in the recap cut. Spencer Knight's 11.80 in Chicago is the other goalie line just outside.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Hedman who had not scored since February and just ended a 4-0-0 home start. They are not the same number.

Track Hedman, Hagel, Vasilevskiy, and both clubs on the marketplace. Vancouver visits Tampa Bay on Saturday. Seattle visits Florida that night.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020111. Information only; not financial advice.*