Nikita Kucherov scored one goal in a six-point performance to match a career high and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up a win in his 500th career game as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning claimed an 8-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Jake Guentzel collected a hat trick in the onslaught. Brayden Point netted one goal and three assists, Anthony Cirelli collected one goal and two assists, Brandon Hagel finished with one goal and one assist and Conor Geekie tallied once for the Lightning, who have won three of four games. Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.
Jonathan Huberdeau collected one goal and one assist for the Flames, who have one win in their last four games. Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary also scored, and goalie Dan Vladar stopped 18 shots in the back-and-forth affair.
Huberdeau opened the scoring with his team-high 11th goal of the season at the 4:42 mark, but the Lightning responded with four consecutive goals.
Kucherov put Tampa Bay on the board with 80 seconds remaining in the opening period by converting a breakaway for his 14th of the campaign.
Guentzel scored for his fifth consecutive game to give Tampa Bay the lead by finding the mark from the slot, and then Point’s power-play goal at 7:55 of the second period — a one-timer for his 19th of the season — made it a 3-1 game.
Cirelli extended the Lightning lead with another man-advantage marker on a rebound at 11:05 of the middle frame for his 12th of the season.
Calgary pulled within one goal with a pair of second-period goals. Kadri notched his 10th of the season at 12:14, and Zary made it a 4-3 game with a shot from the high slot at 14:50 for his seventh of the season.
However, Hagel restored Tampa Bay’s two-goal edge 43 seconds into the third period thanks to a lucky break. A blocked shot came to him in the slot to finish for his 13th of the season.
Guentzel notched his second of the game with another power-play goal at 11:34 of the third period, before Geekie converted the touchdown two minutes late with his fifth of the campaign.
Guentzel completed his sixth career hat trick by potting his 16th of the season at 17:21 of the period to round out the scoring.
–Field Level Media