Lightnings Nick Paul lives for big moments as his family has long known -

TAMPA, Fla. — When Lightning winger Nick Paul hobbled down the tunnel late in the first period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, needing help to get to the dressing room, there were many in Amalie Arena who wondered if he’d come back.

That included his fiancee, Janessa.

“Not good,” she thought.

The seats of Janessa and Paul’s mom, Melinda, were behind the Lightning’s bench, but they had gone to the family room downstairs during the first intermission. Janessa, wearing Paul’s No. 20 and holding a thunder paddle, and Melinda were a little late coming back up for the second period, so they only heard the cheers when Tampa Bay scored 1 minute, 26 seconds in.

It was Paul.

“Everyone was asking, ‘How is he? Is he coming back?'” Janessa told The Athletic. “I was going back to my seat and they scored and everyone was like, ‘It’s Nick!’ I’m like, ‘Really? He’s out there?’ It was exciting.”

Paul, who had gotten tangled up and toe-picked near the boards in the first period, said it felt worse initially than it actually was — “Just hit the funny bone, I guess.” Paul went to the dressing room to have his leg evaluated and got cleared, then tested it out by skating before the period started.

“I was going back for sure,” he said.

That Paul scored what turned out to be the game winner in a 6-2 victory over the Avalanche on Monday night — which reduced Tampa Bay’s series deficit to 2-1 — came as little surprise to any of his new teammates. After all, Paul has proven to be clutch since coming over shortly before the trade deadline from Ottawa, including scoring both goals in a Game 7 victory over the Leafs in the first round, putting him forever in Lightning lore. Though this is his first playoff run as a pro, those who coached Paul say he was built for this time of year, both in his physical size and his poise.

“He’s good under pressure,” Janessa said.

And tough.

“Just like his mom, right?” Melinda joked. “It’s just Nick doing what Nick does.”

Really nice pass from Colton to Paul to set up the 3-1 score pic.twitter.com/zh69p4UarD

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) June 21, 2022

Life is much different for Paul and his family than any of them expected just a few months ago.

On Paul’s 27th birthday, March 20, the day before the NHL’s trade deadline, they were together in Ottawa. The plan was to do a birthday dinner that night at The Keg. Paul’s camp had been talking with the Senators about a potential contract extension, something he and Janessa were excited about. Paul had found a coach who believed in him in D.J. Smith, who felt the winger found his niche after 11 trips up and down from the AHL.

Janessa, who has a master’s degree in child psychology, works at a children’s hospital in the city, where both have tons of friends. The couple had met at a Boots & Hearts music festival, with Janessa, at 6-foot, seeing Paul pulling a cooler and offering to help and later saying, “I wanted to get a tall one before all the (short) women got the tall ones.”

Paul had an offer from Ottawa — believed to be for four years with a $2.5 million AAV — but negotiations stalled. His agent told him on his birthday to expect to get traded, with several teams in the mix, including the Rangers and Bruins. It wasn’t until Paul, his parents and Janessa hopped in his white Audi Q5 SUV and headed for the restaurant that he got the news: He was going to Tampa.

Soon, he was flooded with texts and calls from his new teammates. The Lightning wives and girlfriends quickly reached out to Janessa, making her feel at home. They returned to Paul’s home for cake (ice cream, cookies and cream), with the family toasting champagne that was left over from Christmas and New Year’s. It was emotional for everyone, considering his journey, with Melinda telling her son, “They won two Stanley Cups and they want you.”

“I knew whatever happened, it would work out,” Janessa said.

But this well? Paul a major difference-maker, playing for a potential championship team, raising his stock by the minute for this summer’s sweepstakes as an unrestricted free agent?

“All of us are grateful. It seems very surreal at times,” Melinda said. “It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come to everybody, right? We’re happy he’s been able to seize that opportunity and do the best he can with it. Not everyone has that opportunity.”

The day after Paul got traded, he was heading to Raleigh, N.C., to meet the Lightning for his debut.

He made a call to Smith, with that conversation now ranking as the Senators coach’s favorite memory.

“He thanked me,” Smith recalled recently. “He wasn’t teary-eyed, but I hadn’t seen him like that before. He was really thankful that I took the time to give him an opportunity. And really, that’s what coaching is about. At the end of the day, if a player leaves you and you made him a little bit better, it makes you feel good you helped someone in some way, in his case, to realize his dream.”

Smith added: “It’s a lot more you than you think.”

Smith had known Paul since coaching against him in junior a decade ago, when Paul was linemates with Barclay Goodrow in Brampton. He had watched Paul play for Team Canada at the world juniors, surprising most by making the team.

“I saw him at his best, and it was just a matter of him getting that out of himself,” Smith said. “I don’t think he believed that after being cut and sent down and waived and the league passing on him that, per se, he belonged in the NHL. The more we gave him opportunities, the better he got. And he’s proved to not just be an NHL player, but a good one.”

When Paul got traded to Tampa Bay, Smith predicted it’d be a perfect fit.

“He can play all positions,” Smith said. “He can play in his own one, he can add to an offense. The more Nick gets comfortable with the team and the coaching staff, the more you can see he has more skill than people give him credit for. He’s a competitor. When you’re talking about winning championships, Nick has that extra gear and physicality that I think will help.

“He can do whatever you need him to do, and he won’t let you down.”

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he’d be lying if he said he thought Paul would be playing the kind of minutes he is, or that he’d be the first player over the boards on the penalty kill.

Or that he’d be a Game 7 hero.

“But he’s earned it,” Cooper said.

Paul has always said he believed he was made for the playoffs, even if he didn’t have the experience to show for it. He said his time with Team Canada at last summer’s World Championships — when Paul scored the gold-medal-winning goal — was an important moment for him.

“I haven’t played playoff hockey in a long time — meaningful hockey,” Paul said. “So having that World Championships really helped me get in those games where it means something — do or die, overtime, everything on the line, going for the gold medal. Those (are) situations I love, and I rise to the occasion. I don’t know what it is, it just happens. It’s nice to get that feeling again, getting that experience.”

Paul isn’t the only Lightning player to go down the tunnel into the room after an injury and come back to play during these playoffs. It’s part of the sacrifice and guts that makes this team special, as defending back-to-back champions. Paul seems to fit like a glove, earning admiration from his teammates, who were worried he was hurt Monday night.

“Pauly is a huge part of our team, so you hold your breath for a little bit,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “Guys are obviously banged up, especially this time of the year. But in true hockey-player fashion, he sucks it up and comes out and scores the eventual game winner. You can see how valuable he is to our team, all the little things he does, he scored big goals already. He’s had some great moments.”

“Was he hurt?” Victor Hedman said with a smile. “He didn’t miss a beat. Incredible player. He’s showing all playoffs what he’s made of, that this time of year, he seems to thrive.”

“It was uplifting,” Cooper said.

Those big moments will likely earn Paul a big payday in free agency, as we’ve previously broken down. But Paul hopes it’s in Tampa, where he’s settled into a three-bedroom Airbnb in South Tampa. There’s a chance he can establish more permanent roots, though it’ll be tough for the Lightning to afford him and Ondrej Palat, also a pending UFA.

“I definitely love it here,” Paul said. “I love the staff, love the guys, love everything about it. Right now, the focus is on winning playoff games, but after the season, this is definitely somewhere I’d like to be.”

Paul and Janessa have their routines, including walking their dogs Nash (Husky shepherd) and Hazel (Husky lab) around the neighborhood. They found a favorite Greek restaurant that they frequent. “It kept working out so we kept eating there,” Janessa said. “It feels like good luck now.”

Paul is three wins away from his first Stanley Cup championship, and his family is along with the ride, even his father, Ellwood, who remained at their home Monday night to dogsit.

“We’re enjoying our time, for sure,” Janessa said.

“How can you not enjoy it?” Melinda said.

“It’s fun — stressful, but it’s good,” Janessa said.

Said Melinda: “It’s all upside for us.”

(Photo of Lightning’s Nick Paul and Avalanche’s Jack Johnson: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)

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