Bolts have three-game winning streak snapped by Blues
Kucherov, Cirelli and Point all score for Tampa Bay in the 4-3 loss
by Jacob Lynn / TampaBayLightning.com
The Lightning had their three-game winning streak snapped in a 4-3 loss to the Blues at Amalie Arena on Wednesday night.
After a scoreless first period, the two teams evenly split four goals in the second frame.
The Bolts got on the board first on Nikita Kucherov's eighth goal of the year. Brayden Point won the faceoff back to Kucherov who fired a shot that deflected off a St. Louis defender and into the net.
Oskar Sundqvist answered back with a pair of goals to give the Blues the lead. His first came on a shorthanded breakaway and he capitalized on a Tampa Bay turnover at the defensive blue line three minutes later to put St. Louis up by one.
The Lightning would come back to tie the game midway through the period. It was Anthony Cirelli who scored the equalizer, sweeping a loose puck over the line as he fell to the ice. The goal extended Cirelli's point streak to six games.
Video: STL@TBL: Cirelli lays out to put puck home
St. Louis took the lead for good with two goals midway through the third period. Zach Sanford put the Blues up by one despite Andrei Vasilevskiy getting a piece of the shot. Brayden Schenn then scored the eventual game winner just as a five-on-three power play expired, taking advantage of a group of tired Lightning penalty killers.
Tampa Bay managed to get back within one on a Brayden Point power play goal with five minutes remaining. The Bolts did get a couple of good looks towards the end of the game with the extra attacker but couldn't crack Jordan Binnington in goal for the Blues.
This was Tampa Bay's second loss to St. Louis in a nine day span, giving the Blues a sweep of the two-game regular season series. The Bolts fell to the Blues 3-1 last Monday night in St. Louis.
The Bolts quickly get back to work after Thanksgiving, as they face the Capitals in Washington on Friday evening and return home the next night to host the Hurricanes.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
TBL | 3:53 Nikita Kucherov (9) - Brayden Point
STL | 5:31 Oskar Sundqvist (7) - Ivan Barbashev, Jay Bouwmeester - SHG
STL | 8:40 Oskar Sundqvist (8) - Ivan Barbashev, Tyler Bozak
TBL | 11:39 Anthony Cirelli (6) - Ryan McDonagh, Nikita Kucherov
3rd Period
STL | 8:21 Zach Sanford (3) - Ivan Barbashev, Tyler Bozak
STL | 11:07 Brayden Schenn (13) - Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron - PPG
TBL | 14:23 Brayden Point (8) - Nikita Kucherov, Kevin Shattenkirk - PPG