Recap: Lightning 3, Flames 0

The Tampa Bay Lightning extended their winning streak to seven games on Thursday, wrapping up a three-game homestand with a 3-0 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Nikita Kucherov scored the opening goal late in the first period for the Lightning, and teammate Erik Cernak made it 2-0 in the third period. Brandon Hagel’s empty-net goal sealed the win.

Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Tampa Bay is now 34-20-4 this season.

The Lightning open March’s schedule with a Saturday game in Washington against the Capitals, who sit atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 38-12-8 record.

Scoring Summary
First period
TBL 1, CGY 0
19:14 Nikita Kucherov (27) - Jake Guentzel, Victor Hedman - PP
It took nearly 20 minutes, but a late goal handed the home team the 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. Nikita Kucherov’s pass attempt on the power play bounced off a Calgary defenseman’s skate in front of the net and slipped through Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf for the game’s first goal.

Shots on goal: TBL 7, CGY 7

Second period
None.

Shots on goal: CGY 9, TBL 8

Third period
TBL 3, CGY 0
3:50 Erik Cernak (3) - Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli
Defenseman Erik Cernak doubled the home team’s advantage early in period three. Forward Brandon Hagel found the puck atop the left faceoff circle and dished to a crashing Cernak from the right point, whose shot inside the faceoff circle beat Wolf on the blocker side.

TBL 3, CGY 0
17:09 Hagel (29) - Hedman - EN
Hagel capped the night with an empty-net goal.

Total shots: CGY 27, TBL 22