Kucherov scores twice, Lightning recover to top Canadiens in shootout

TAMPA -- Nikita Kucherov scored twice, and the Tampa Bay Lightning recovered for a 5-4 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens at Benchmark International Arena on Sunday.

Kucherov also scored two goals in a 4-2 win at the Florida Panthers on Saturday. He has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a four-game streak.

Nick Paul and Pontus Holmberg scored, and Gage Goncalves and Oliver Bjorkstrand each had two assists for the Lightning (22-13-3), who have won four straight. Jonas Johansson made 32 saves.

"I think anybody that was watching this game knows that the better team that played 65 minutes tonight didn't get the two points," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "But am I upset about it? No. Because there are 82 games and you need to scrape points anyway you can. A lot of games this year we've walked away from scratching our heads like how did we not get a point out of that."

Juraj Slafkovsky had two goals and an assist, and Noah Dobson and Ivan Demidov each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens (20-12-6), who are 1-0-2 in their past three. Jacob Fowler made 18 saves.

"Tough second period, you know, they got a couple of goals," Slafkovsky said. "But we came back, that's important. We know we can come back. Too bad we didn't finish it with two points, but it's a big one point for us. We had a pretty good start I would say. We jumped out pretty good and a couple of unlucky bounces that ended up in our net, but it's a good way to come back and get at least a point."

Goncalves and Brayden Point scored in the shootout for the Lightning. Johansson made saves on attempts from Demidov and Cole Caufield.

"I think everybody did a pretty good job of dialing it in, in overtime," Goncalves said. "At the end of the third they got a good shot, good goal, but after that I think we kept them to the outside pretty well."

Kucherov put Tampa Bay up 1-0 at 2:28 of the second period on a breakaway after collecting a stretch pass from Goncalves.

Kucherov increased the lead to 2-0 when he scored his second goal at 12:11. Point passed to Goncalves on a 2-on-1 into the offensive zone, and Goncalves' shot rebounded off the glass behind the net. Point collected the puck and fed it to Kucherov from below the goal line, where he then sent it over a diving Fowler from in front.

Paul made it 3-0 at 14:49, burying a rebound from in tight off an initial shot from Bjorkstrand.

"Flying home last night, little sleep, 5 o'clock game, under 24 hours, you've got to shake it out in the first and try to get that going," Paul said. "Just one of those games where you've got to dig down even when the legs feel heavy. You've got to find that extra gear and get in the zone."

The Canadiens scored four times in the third period to rally from a three-goal deficit.

Demidov cut the deficit to 3-1 at 1:06 of the third period. Slafkovsky slid a no-look pass to the slot as he skated behind the net, and Demidov snapped it past the left pad of Johansson.

"Sometimes the game is hard and you've got to keep playing," Montreal coach Martin St Louis said. "That's what we did tonight. I'm really proud of the way the guys fought in the third and stuck to it."

Holmberg extended it to 4-1 just 34 seconds later at 1:40, setting up in the left face-off circle and tipping a shot from Bjorkstrand over Fowler's blocker.

Slafkovsky made it 4-2 with a wrist shot from the high slot past Johansson's glove at 9:16.

"It's always good to put a couple of goals in, I feel like I'm going in the right direction." Slafkovsky said. "I just have to keep working. Like I said, It's just too bad that we can't smile a little more right now and enjoy the two points, but the one point is good."

Dobson brought the Canadiens to within 4-3 at 12:17 with a wrist shot from the right circle off a pass from Caufield.

"These are big points, just to find a way to get a point is huge," Dobson said. "A lot of positives going into the next game."

Slafkovsky tied it 4-4 with his second goal at 19:56, beating Johansson glove side with a wrist shot from the right circle.

"I thought it was a bit unlucky that we were down 3-0, I thought we were playing a lot better game than that," Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said. "But we fought hard and scored four in the third period to get a point. Had chances in OT...shootouts are a tough way to lose, but I'm happy with the battle we had."

NOTES: Lightning forward Brandon Hagel returned after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury. He was minus-2 and had one shot on goal in 21:25 of ice time. ... Tampa Bay defenseman Maxim Groshev was called up from Syracuse of the American Hockey League prior to the game. He had an assist, one shot on goal and was plus-1 in 13:03 of ice time in his NHL debut. ... Point recorded his 21st career shootout goal and moved within one of tying Steven Stamkos (22) for the most in franchise history. ... Canadiens forward Jake Evans is out 4-6 weeks after a knee-on-knee hit with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Justin Brazeau on Dec. 20.