Steven Stamkos scored a hat trick last night in Tampa Bay’s overtime win over Buffalo. But before you go patting him on the back, please note that one of the goals counted for the opposing team.

The Lightning center called it an “uncharacteristic hat trick.” However, he redeemed himself in OT when he put the winning goal (in the correct net) to bring home a victory for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos said of scoring a goal for the opposition, “It’s a tough bounce, but we responded. We got a power play after that and tied it up and that was a good push for us.”

Stamkos’ goal for the Sabres was an extremely odd play. It occurred when Lighting goaltender Ben Bishop left the net for the bench with the game tied at 2 to allow the offense an extra attacker. Stamkos attempted a pass to Michael Kostka, but it missed the target and hit the boards. Then, with no defenders there to stop it, the puck slipped all way down the ice and into the empty net. The goal was credited to Cory Conacher.

It was a strange, almost 1 in a million type bad break. Lighting coach Jon Cooper said, “I don’t know if he took a puck and had 10 of them in a practice if he could throw it in. Gosh, that was tough to watch. And when the puck goes down the ice, of course it’s like going in slow motion.”

Stamkos went from goat to hero, however, with his game-winning power play goal in overtime. The final score was 4-3. Tampa Bay is currently 41-24-9, which is good for third place in the Atlantic Division. The team gets back on the ice tonight at 5 pm ET to play against the Red Wings in Detroit.

Image via Steven Stamkos, Twitter