Kucherov has 3 points, Lightning ease past Coyotes

TAMPA -- Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 6-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

It was the fifth time in nine games that Kucherov had at least three points; he leads the NHL with 83 (32 goals, 51 assists), one more than Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon.

"This stretch has been pretty amazing," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "You look at what MacKinnon's doing, and everyone is talking about how [otherworldly] he's playing … but the level [Kucherov] is playing at this year is another reason why we've won seven of the last eight."

Stamkos and Brayden Point each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay (26-18-5). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 17 saves.

"It's unfortunate tonight that it felt like every time we got in a little bit of trouble it ended up in the net, which was a bit of a downer," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "But there is a lot of excitement in the room. I think guys are feeling good about themselves and there is a lot of belief in this team. There's a lot more urgency to our game and a lot more attention to it."

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist for Arizona (23-21-3), which has lost four of six (2-3-1), including 6-2 at the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Connor Ingram made 31 saves.

"I think we played hard, I think we made a few mistakes -- coverage mistakes, game management mistakes, puck management, and that cost us," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "They played a really good game on the other side. They have elite shooters and found a way to score big goals at key moments."

Darren Raddysh gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 24 seconds into the first period with a wrist shot from the right point.

Keller tied it 1-1 at 8:40 with his 20th goal of the season, a follow-up in the slot off a shot from Josh Brown.

"I thought we had good energy, just made a couple mistakes," Keller said. "They are a great team. They have a lot of great players, and they make you pay when you make a mistake. We have to learn from that and take it to the next game (at the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday)."

Point put the Lightning back in front 2-1 at 19:26 with a shot from the left circle.

Kucherov made it 3-1 at 7:36 of the second period with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Stamkos, who got his 1,100th NHL point with the assist.

Stamkos then extended the lead to 4-1 with a power-play goal at 12:02 off a cross-ice pass from Kucherov.

The No. 1 pick by Tampa Bay at the 2008 NHL Draft, Stamkos is the 66th player to reach 1,100 points (535 goals, 566 assists).

"I don't take for granted any point that I get," Stamkos said. "I've been very fortunate to play with some amazing players in my career. And like I always say, it's pretty cool to do it all with one team. And it helps to do it in a win. Everyone is in a good mood. Hopefully we can keep it going."

Mitchell Chaffee scored his first NHL goal in his fourth game at 15:18 on a rebound of Maxwell Crozier’s shot to give Tampa Bay a 5-1 lead. Chaffee was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

"Four Syracuse kids on the ice for that goal (Chaffee, Crozier, Waltteri Merela and Emil Lilleberg)," Cooper said. "You talk about some of the winning we've done lately, I think you can attribute some of that to the energy that the kids from Syracuse have been bringing us. So, when they score like that, guys are pumped."

Crozier, who was called up Jan. 13, has assists in back-to-back games. Lilleberg, who was called up on Jan. 6, had the second assist on Chaffee's goal.

'It's awesome, I walked to the rink with them today, we're very close and that just makes it that much better," Chaffee said. "Crozier kind of banked it off the goalie. … The biggest thing was trying to elevate the puck, get it upstairs and it found the back of the net."

Sean Durzi cut it to 5-2 when he scored from the slot at 16:59.

Luke Glendening extended the lead to 6-2 with a shot from the left circle at 7:32.

Lawson Crouse one-timed a feed from Logan Cooley at 11:48 for the 6-3 final.

"When we mismanage our game, we pay dearly for it," Tourigny said. "I love the effort. I love our start, but unfortunately the game went away in the second period, and from there it was tough."

NOTES: Stamkos is the sixth active player to reach 1,100 points (Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane and Anze Kopitar). ... Point has 12 points (six goals, six assists) over the past nine games. … Arizona claimed center Adam Ruzicka off waivers from the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Ruzicka had three goals and six assists in 39 games with Calgary. ... Keller is the first Coyotes player to record three consecutive 20-goal seasons since Shane Doan had nine straight from 2000-09.