Palat is money for Lightning, could cash in as free agent
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — If this is Ondrej Palat’s final playoff run with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he’s certainly making it count. The pending free agent scored his third game-winning goal this playoffs to keep the back-to-back defending champions alive in the Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche. No one has more game-winners than Palat since the start of the postseason in 2020. The Czech winger’s knack for scoring big goals and everything else he does defensively and away from the puck should help him cash in when free agency opens July 13. But for now the homegrown Lightning product wants to win another title.