The Tampa Bay Lightning remained perfect on their Western Conference road trip with Saturday night’s 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
Connor McDavid gave the home team a 1-0 lead with 22 seconds left in the first period before a trio of Lightning goals reshaped the score in the second period.
Anthony Cirelli scored on a rebound, and Tampa Bay then scored on a power-play chance for Jake Guentzel and a shorthanded breakaway from Nikita Kucherov for a 3-1 lead.
The Oilers got a goal back in the third period on a tough bounce at the net, but Kucherov and Cirelli each got their second goal of the game to seal the 5-2 win.
Kucherov finished with two goals and two assists to lead Tampa Bay, while Brandon Hagel (two assists) and Cirelli (two goals) had two points. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for the win.
The Lightning, now 43-21-4 this season, will wrap up their road trip on Sunday with a visit to play the Calgary Flames.
Scoring summary
First period
EDM 1, TBL 0
19:37 Connor McDavid (38) - Evan Bouchard
Edmonton cracked open the scoring on a deflected puck by Connor McDavid near the net in the closing seconds of the first period.
Shots on goal: EDM 11, TBL 9
Second period
EDM 1, TBL 1
1:37 Anthony Cirelli (18) - Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel
Forward Anthony Cirelli tied the game early in the second period, slipping a rebound chance through the legs of Edmonton goalie Connor Ingram.
TBL 2, EDM 1
12:13 Jake Guentzel (31) - Kucherov, Brayden Point - PP
Tampa Bay took its first lead on Saturday when Jake Guentzel pushed to the front of the Edmonton net and roofed a shot on a power play.
TBL 3, EDM 1
16:58 Kucherov (39) - JJ Moser - SH
Nikita Kucherov’s first career shorthanded goal came on a breakaway late in the second period for his third point of the night and a 3-1 lead.
Shots on goal: TBL 12, EDM 11
Third period
TBL 3, EDM 2
7:16 Josh Samanski (1) - Unassisted - OWN
A bounce near the Lightning net went off a stick and rolled in to cut the visitors’ lead to a single goal.
TBL 4, EDM 2
15:32 Kucherov (40) - Hagel
Tampa Bay restored its two-goal lead with Kucherov’s fourth point of the night, this one a chance near the right post after a feed from Brandon Hagel.
TBL 5, EDM 2
15:29 Cirelli (19) - Unassisted - EN, SH
The night ended with a deep loft by Cirelli into the empty net.
Total shots: TBL 27, EDM 27
