After Hedman blocked a shot from Byram that bounced out to Kucherov at the left circle in the defensive zone, Kucherov sent a stretch pass the length of the ice for Stamkos, who got behind everyone and dashed into the offensive zone on a breakaway. Settling the puck down, Stamkos lifted his leg and froze Annunen with a fake shot before making a move to the forehand and tucking the puck into the open cage to even the score with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.
Only 4:13 later, the top line struck again for the Lightning and made it a 4-3 game with 11:47 remaining in regulation. Following an offensive-zone faceoff win by Stamkos, the Bolts captain collected a loose puck near the Tampa Bay blue line and sent a backhand shot towards the net, where Point was in a battle at the top of the crease with Cale Makar. Winning the puck, Point sent a no-look, backhand feed to the backdoor for Kucherov, who calmly collected the puck off his skate and roofed the go-ahead goal for his third point of the night.
Suddenly protecting a one-goal lead in the third period, Tampa Bay defended hard and eventually ended the frame with a 16-9 shot advantage over Colorado.
The dagger came at the 19:28 mark when Anthony Cirelli found the back of the empty net with Annunen on the bench for an extra attacker. Nick Perbix added another empty-net goal on the ensuing faceoff to cap off the 6-3 win for the Lightning.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was sharp between the pipes once again, making 28 saves on 31 shots against for his seventh-straight win on home ice, improving to 19-11-0 on the season overall.
Tampa Bay now holds a 30-20-5 record, including a mark of 18-5-3 on home ice. The team will be back in action on Saturday with a 5:00 matchup against the Florida Panthers back at AMALIE Arena.
Bolts by the Numbers
- Nikita Kucherov recorded three points (2-1—3) and a +4 rating to extend his point streak to nine games (8-10— 18). Kucherov has posted a multi-point effort in six consecutive home games, tied with Steven Stamkos (2021-22) for the longest such run in franchise history. Kucherov has recorded 14 three-point efforts this season – three more than any other NHL skater. Kucherov surpassed Stamkos (13 GP in 2021-22) for sole possession of the second-most three-point games in a season by a Lightning skater all-time. Kucherov now trails only his own 18 three-point games in 2018-19. Kucherov has now recorded 46 career multi-goal games, tied with Vincent Lecavalier for the third-most in Lightning franchise history. Kucherov continues to lead the NHL with 93 points this season (36-57—93).
- Brandon Hagel picked up two assists and extended his career-long point streak to eight games (6-7—13).
- Steven Stamkos scored a goal and added one assist for his 13th multi-point game of the season. Now up to 50 points on the season (23-27—50), Stamkos has recorded 12 50-point seasons with the Lightning, passing Martin St. Louis (11) for the most in franchise history.
- Victor Hedman recorded one assist and finished the game with a +5 rating, the best of his career and just the 14th time that feat has been achieved in Lightning franchise history.
Bolts Quotes
- Jon Cooper: “There's a lot of exceptional players in this league and then there's the cream of the crop. You saw a whole group of them in that game tonight. Players clearly know when they're going against these guys, and I thought everybody showed well.”
- Brayden Point on big players leading the way: “We're out there to do that. Aside from Kuch, me and Stammer have been getting some looks, but haven't been able to put the puck in the net. It felt nice tonight to contribute and help the team in the way that we're supposed to.”
- Steven Stamkos on Nikita Kucherov: “He lets his game do the talking. Like we always mention all season long, we see the work that goes on behind the scenes. It's relentless. You go out in games, and you want to be one of the best or the best in the world, you've got to go out there and do it consistently. He's been the most consistent player this year for sure.”
- Stamkos: “The first couple games of that road trip weren't acceptable coming off the break. We knew that. We tightened up a little bit. I thought tonight was probably the best in terms of the defensive zone structure, especially against their top line, which is really dangerous. All in all, I thought that was a really good game. Good third period in a game that we needed to win.”
