Nikita Kucherov had two goals, including one of two Tampa Bay power-play tallies, as the Lightning beat visiting Vancouver for the seventh straight time, edging the Canucks 4-3 on Thursday night.
Nicholas Paul scored on the power play and had an assist, and Michael Eyssimont found the net for the Lightning, who won for the first time in four games.
In the lineup for the first time in three games after a lower-body injury, team captain Steven Stamkos notched an assist.
Goaltender Jonas Johansson (2-1-1) stopped 26 of 29 shots as Tampa Bay moved to 12-8-2 all-time at home against Vancouver.
J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, and Brock Boeser and Tyler Myers had goals for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko (1-2-0) made 32 saves.
With the top man-advantage unit on the ice in the first period, Paul pounced on a poor Vancouver clearing attempt and found the back of the net for the third time this season — all on the power play — at 11:10.
Tampa Bay and Vancouver were tied 13-13 in shots in the first 20 minutes, but the Lightning benefited from having the frame’s only two power plays.
However, Vancouver blitzed the home side for two goals in the first 62 seconds of the second.
After Boeser notched his team-leading fifth goal of the season 14 seconds in off a pass from Miller, defenseman Myers — who scored once in 78 games last season — gave the Canucks their first lead when he rocketed one in from up high at 1:02.
But Tampa Bay matched the quick two-goal output with one of its own toward the end of the period, scoring twice in 69 seconds.
Eyssimont ripped his first goal of the campaign at 15:43 from the left circle. Kucherov soon followed from above the right circle as the Lightning regained the lead at 3-2.
Early in the third on their third power play, the Lightning moved ahead by two goals when Paul won a four-man board battle and found Kucherov for his second tally of the night and fourth this season at 4:42.
Vancouver pulled Demko with 2:25 remaining, and Miller potted a rebound, his second goal, with 1:49 left in regulation.
Johansson and his squad stymied Vancouver’s final attempts to hold on for their second home victory.
–Field Level Media
