PITTSBURGH -- Marc-Andre Fleury's comeback was the story before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning's comeback might be the story of the series.

Tyler Johnson deflected Jason Garrison's wrist shot from the left circle into the net only 53 seconds into overtime and the Lightning took a 3-2 series lead by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night.

Nikita Kucherov led a comeback from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 with two pivotal goals as the Lightning won for the second time in the three games in Pittsburgh, where the last two games have been decided by a goal in the first minute of overtime. They won't have to return there if they can win Game 6 Tuesday in Tampa, where teams split Games 3-4.

"He's one of those players that the bigger the moment, the bigger they rise to the occasion," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of Kucherov, who came into the series with nine goals but didn't score in the first four games.

Actually, Cooper could have been talking about his whole team -- the Lighting are one win away from the Stanley Cup finals for the second straight season.

"Obviously, you want to finish it off as soon as you can, but they're a great team and we expect their best (in Game 6)," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said.

The Penguins gambled by returning Fleury to the net for the first time in 51 days, benching rookie ace Matt Murray, but Fleury was outplayed by rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 31 saves to Fleury's 23. Fleury now is 1-8 in his last nine playoff starts.

"It wasn't the best I've felt in a game," Fleury said. "I've been practicing a lot and I should have been better.

"Now isn't the time to assess his play," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of Fleury, who might return to the bench for Game 6.

One constant on every Tampa Bay goal: Penguins star defenseman Kris Letang, playing without usual partner Trevor Daley, was on the ice. Daley will miss the rest of the playoffs with a broken left ankle that occurred in Game 4.

Olli Maatta, back after being benched for three games for uneven play, figured on two of the Penguins' first three goals -- exactly what Sullivan wanted upon returning him to the lineup.

But, again, the Penguins' big names, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, couldn't produce a goal in a Game 5 that, based on prior results of NHL series tied at 2, sends the winner on to the next round about 75 percent of the time.

"I thought most of the night we played the game the right way -- we had a lot of offensive zone time, we generated a fair amount of scoring chances, we controlled the shot clock, we did a fair amount of the things we set out to do," Sullivan said.

The Penguins led 3-2 late in the third, but Kucherov scored his second of the game -- and 11th of the playoffs -- at 16:44. Johnson's shot from the left point deflected to Kucherov behind the net, and he easily beat Fleury on a wraparound.

"We showed a lot of character," Kucherov said of the twin comebacks. "We believed in ourselves. ... At that point of the game, you're just trying to put the puck on the net and create some momentum."

The Penguins took that 3-2 lead by scoring in the final minute of each of the first two periods -- literally the final second of the first period -- with left winger Chris Kunitz involved in both goals.

After Alex Killorn and Kucherov scored 1:10 apart in the second to tie it, the Penguins regained the lead when Kunitz punched the puck past Vasilevskiy with 50 seconds left in the period.

Maatta swiftly carried the puck beyond the goal line, then fed it to the high slot to Malkin, who put it on net. Just as Vasilevskiy seemed ready to grab it, Kunitz nudged it into the net for his fourth of the playoffs and third of the series.

"Every game you shake off, you take the good and the bad ... we'll try to rally behind each other and get a win in Game 6," Kunitz said.

Previously, after holding the Lightning to four shots in the first period, the Penguins scored the game's first goal with only seven-tenths of a second left. Kunitz, while falling down, shoved the puck up-ice to Bryan Rust, who beat Hedman for a shot that rebounded to defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who put it inside the far post.

Pittsburgh made it 2-0 only 1:30 into the second. Carl Hagelin shifted to the right of Vasilevskiy to deflect Maatta's pass to Patric Hornqvist for his seventh of the playoffs.

But after Phil Kessel missed a chance to put the Penguins up 3-0, Killorn's wrist shot from the left circle eluded Fleury at 13:15 for his fifth goal.

"The first goal? That was stupid," Fleury said, referring to his own play.

Kucherov followed with his 10th of the playoffs, a one-timer from the left circle created by Vladimir Namestnikov's pass.

"We're trying to stay even keeled and bring the same approach whether we're down or up," Lightning forward Ryan Callahan said. "I think that's really helped us in these playoffs. ... We had that belief in here (even when they were down 2-0 and 3-2)."

Playoffs that, for the second straight season, might extend into June for the Lightning.

NOTES: The Lightning are 3-1 in overtime, the Penguins are 3-2, including a 3-2 win on Sidney Crosby's goal in Game 2. ... Pittsburgh G Marc-Andre Fleury made his first start of the playoffs, marking the first time in franchise history that the Penguins have started three different goaltenders in the same postseason. Jeff Zatkoff and Matt Murray have also started. ... Lightning captain C Steven Stamkos (blood clot) skated Sunday morning but did not play. G Ben Bishop (lower body injury) missed his fourth straight game. ... Penguins D Trevor Daley (broken left ankle) is out for the playoffs. D Olli Maatta, a healthy scratch the last three games, replaced Daley. ... Penguins LW Beau Bennett, held out since April 5, skated on C Sidney Crosby's line to start the game. LW Conor Sheary was a healthy scratch for the first time in the playoffs. ... Lightning C Tyler Johnson wore a half visor after taking a puck off the mouth. ... Tampa Bay F Vladislav Namestnikov started on the fourth line with C Alex Killorn and RW Nikita Kucherov.