What Happened
The Tampa Bay Lightning came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Saturday in Tampa. Nikita Kucherov scored twice in a span of 4:53 in the second period to tie the game, and Jake Guentzel scored the winner at 2:04 of the third. Dennis Hildeby made 12 saves for the Lightning, who improved to 5-0 at home. Vancouver, which also blew a 2-0 lead in its previous game, finished 0-4-1 on a five-game road trip and is winless in seven games (0-6-1).
Key Details
- Kucherov scored on the power play at 6:30 of the second and again at 11:23 off a Brayden Point faceoff win.
- Guentzel's winner deflected off the stick of Vancouver's Liam Ohgren after a pass from Charle-Edouard D'Astous.
- Pontus Holmberg also scored for Tampa Bay; Point finished with two assists.
- Linus Karlsson opened the scoring at 15:32 of the first; Elias Pettersson made it 2-0 on the power play at 4:35 of the second.
- Kevin Lankinen stopped 31 shots for Vancouver.
- The Canucks have lost six of seven (0-6-1) and went 0-4-1 on their road trip.
What It Means
Tampa Bay remains perfect at home and got its top players producing, with Kucherov's quick pair flipping the game before Guentzel's winner. For Vancouver, the loss extends a difficult stretch in which the team has twice failed to protect a two-goal lead, and the road trip ends without a win.