VANCOUVER — Brayden Point scored twice and added two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning downed the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Sunday.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two helpers for the Lightning (14-9-3), while Jake Guentzel put away the game winner on a power play late in the third period.
Captain Quinn Hughes and Kiefer Sherwood found the back of the net for the Canucks (14-8-4), who fell to 4-6-3 at home.
Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced and Kevin Lankinen made 28 saves for Vancouver.
TAKEAWAYS
Canucks: Hughes took a stick to the face 55 seconds into the game, missed more than 11 minutes, then returned to open the scoring 16:08 into the first period. It was the 50th goal of the defenceman's career and extended his points streak to seven games with three goals and 10 assists across the stretch.
Lightning: Kucherov, who returned to the lineup Sunday after missing two games with a lower-body injury, added another potent piece to Tampa's red-hot power play. The Lightning were 2-for-4 with the man advantage and scored a power-play goal for the sixth straight game.
KEY MOMENT
Tampa took the lead 6:29 into the second when Kucherov sliced a pass to Point at the bottom of the faceoff circle and the Lightning winger blasted it in past Lankinen for his 17th of the season. Kucherov put the visitors on the board just a minute and 49 seconds earlier.
KEY STAT
Point scored his league-leading 10th power-play goal of the season. He’s one away from becoming the third player to score 100 power-play goals for the Lightning
UP NEXT
Canucks: Continue a six-game homestand Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.
Lightning: Visit the Oilers in Edmonton on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press