The Backcheck: Lightning scorefest continues with 8-4 win in New Jersey

For a second straight game, the Tampa Bay Lightning started as strong as a visiting team in the NHL can.

And for a second straight game, that quick start led to a road victory for the Bolts.

Tampa Bay exploded for four goals in the first period on Thursday and beat the New Jersey Devils 8-4 at the Prudential Center, improving to 18-11-2 this season.

The eight goals were a season-high for Tampa Bay and finished one off the franchise record for most goals in a single game.

“It's connecting well, making plays and executing when we get chances,” Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand said of Tampa Bay’s offense, which now has 14 goals over its last two games. “When you have that feeling, you’ve got to hold on to it and keep building on it.”

Nick Paul used a milestone moment to start the scoring on Thursday, getting his 100th career NHL goal 2:57 into the game for a 1-0 Lightning lead.

Forward Scott Sabourin intercepted a clearing attempt in New Jersey’s defensive zone and handed the puck to Paul, whose snap shot from the top of the left circle soared over the shoulder of Devils goalie Jakob Markstrom.

Tampa Bay didn’t rest on its lead, as Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh continued his recent torrid offensive run with the 2-0 goal 51 seconds after the game-opening tally.

Raddysh ripped a one-timer from the top of the offensive zone, which dinged off the left post and into the net 3:48 into the game.

Raddysh has six points in his last five games, and his six goals through 25 games already match his career high over any of his five NHL seasons. He leads the Lightning blue line offensively with 22 points in 2025-26.

The Devils got one goal back to make it 2-1 when defenseman Luke Hughes spun away from a Bolts player at the right point and scored on a shot into the left half of the net seven minutes into the game.

Pontus Holmberg had a quick response, scoring 56 seconds later on a backhand shot from the bottom of the right circle that slipped through Markstrom’s leg pads. That 3-1 goal forced the Devils into a goalie change, but more offense was on the way for Tampa Bay.

Jake Guentzel put the lid on a strong first period with a power-play goal, burying a rebound chance with five minutes remaining after a shot by Bjorkstrand for the 4-1 lead.

“We want to be good off the bat,” Bjorkstrand said. “We’ve got to be ready from the beginning of the game. If you can get a good start, it obviously helps you out a lot throughout the game. We’ve talked about it. We want to have good starts, and we’ve executed that the last few games.”

Bjorkstrand later became the fifth Bolt of the night to score a goal, doing so 6:19 into the second period. Bjorkstrand found himself alone in front of the net after a pass from Guentzel and slung the puck into the top corner of the net for his first 5-on-5 goal this season.

A Devils power-play breakaway goal for Jesper Bratt was offset by Brandon Hagel’s 18th goal of the season with 3:25 left in the second period, and the teams also traded goals in the third period.

Tampa Bay’s goal came as Brayden Point scored for a second straight game, this time finishing a tic-tac-toe passing play from Nikita Kucherov 7:55 into the final frame. The Devils scored at 4-on-4 late in the game, but Bjorkstrand’s second goal of the game came on another Lightning power play to push the score to 8-4.

“We’ve been playing pretty well,” coach Jon Cooper said postgame. “I didn’t like giving up four (goals). I just thought we gave up some easy ones, but we scored tonight, so it was fortunate for us.”

Twelve different players finished with a point for Tampa Bay, and seven posted multi-point games on a night in which Kucherov led the team with four assists.

Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson kept his strong run of games going, stopping 33 of 37 shots on goal for his seventh win of the season.

The Lightning will close a four-game road trip against the New York Islanders on Saturday at UBS Arena at 3:30 p.m.

The Lightning on Saturday can push their win streak to three games while also avenging a pair of tight losses to the Islanders already this month.

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

1. Nikita Kucherov, TBL (4 assists)

2. Oliver Bjorkstrand, TBL (2 Goals, assist)

3. Jake Guentzel, TBL (Goal, 2 assists)