Kucherov, Vasilevskiy pace Lightning past Oilers

TAMPA -- Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Amalie Arena on Tuesday.

Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists, and Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (11-3-1), who have won their past three games and lead the NHL with 23 points. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves for his eighth win of the season.

"The last couple of games we've got back to playing with the puck," Stamkos said of his pairing with Kucherov. "We try to create room for each other out there. Obviously we've developed that chemistry, it was nice to have a couple nice plays and contribute to a win."
WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Lightning highlights]
Ryan Strome and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers (8-6-1), who are 1-2-0 on their four-game trip. Mikko Koskinen made 30 saves in his first loss of the season.
"[Vasilevskiy] played a solid hockey game but we've got to find a way to hit the net," Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom said. "We should have maybe scored one or two more out there on the power play. We had a lot of good chances."
Oilers center Connor McDavid had his point streak end at eight games. He was matched up against a line with Gourde and Point for most of the game.
"I think we tried to play the right way and tried to make sure we didn't turn the puck over," Gourde said. "We tried to limit his time and space. At the end of the day he is a great player so we played tight on him and that was the key."
Stamkos scored his fifth goal of the season at 4:40 of the first period with a wrist shot after a nice passing sequence with Kucherov.
Point gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead at 19:34 with a goal off a rebound of a shot from Gourde.

"It's sure much easier playing with the lead than without it so it was good to score first," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Especially against a team that had a really tough back to back."
Strome cut the lead to 2-1 at 12:32 of the second period on a wrist shot with Drake Caggiula providing a screen.

Gourde made it 3-1 at 13:19 with a redirection off a shot from Ryan McDonagh, and Kucherov extended the lead to 4-1 at 18:59 with a wrist shot.
"We look for each other, we get open for each other," Kucherov said. "That's the point of this game and that's what we're doing."
Draisaitl brought the Oilers within 4-2 with a power-play goal 40 seconds into the third period off a backdoor feed from Ty Rattie.
"We need to bear down a little bit, especially me more than anyone," Draisaitl said. "I didn't think we played terrible or bad by any means, but it's something we can look at and try to get better from."
Kucherov's second goal came on the power play at 8:23 to make it 5-2.

They said it

"They've got a fun team to watch. We're all chasing them right now but I think we can get there." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan
"[Vasilevskiy] is undoubtedly the reason why we win a lot of hockey games. He was outstanding again tonight." -- Lightning forward Steven Stamkos

Need to know

Point has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past five games. … Gourde has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past six games. … Kucherov and Stamkos each has four goals and four assists in their past five games. … Draisaitl has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past seven games. … Oilers forward Milan Lucic was given a 10-minute misconduct for taking down Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph and punching him at 9:31 of the third period. "He felt that a player took a liberty with Kris Russell, and I agree with the liberty part of it," McLellan said." ... McDavid was 2-of-12 (17 percent) on face-offs.

What's next

Oilers:At the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, SNW, NHL.TV)
Lightning: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, MSG+, NHL.TV)