TAMPA --Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson each scored two goals to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
Johnson, who hadn't scored since Oct. 24, gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 1:39 of the third period. Ondrej Palat intentionally shot the puck to the end boards, and Johnson controlled the bouncing puck and beat Martin Jones to the short side. Johnson made it 3-1 at 5:49 when he scored his sixth of the season on a rebound off a shot by Victor Hedman. WATCH: [All Sharks vs. Lightning highlights] With the Lightning coming off a 1-3-0 road trip, Johnson was moved to a line with Steven Stamkos and Vladislav Namestnikov to start the game. "That's how hockey goes, sometimes you get the chances and the bounces don't go your way and then other times you kind of get those garbage goals that just find a way to go in," Johnson said. "So luckily for me I was able to break through. The past couple of games I had some really good chances that just didn't go my way."
Cory Conacher also scored for the Lightning (18-6-2). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves. Barclay Goodrow and Justin Braun scored for the Sharks (14-9-2), whose three-game winning streak ended. Jones made 38 saves in his return after missing the past two games with a lower-body injury. "We were right there," Sharks center Joe Pavelski said. "They get one off the power play. They get another quick one. It felt like we were there. They probably out-chanced us but with the looks we had we felt like we could bang one in and it didn't happen." Goodrow gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 16:58 of the first period with his first goal since Feb. 13, 2015. He scored on a rebound off a shot by Danny O'Regan.
Kucherov tied it 1-1 27 seconds into the second period with a backhand shot off a feed from Palat. "It's huge, we were able to start playing the right way again," Kucherov said. "Good for [Johnson], he's been good. He's been playing well and he got rewarded." Conacher scored his second goal in his second NHL game this season, on a one-timer at 11:01 of the third period to make the score 4-1.
"I thought we competed hard for two periods," Jones said. "That's a team that plays with a lot of pace and maybe we were a half step slower in the third period and they will make you pay." Braun made it 4-2 at 13:37 of the third. Kucherov scored his second goal and 19th of the season on a breakaway at 15:37 of the third. "We played better tonight than we did anytime on the road," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We felt like the way we were playing it was only a matter of time. We shot pucks. We were at the net. We were back home and getting the energy from the crowd."
Goal of the Game
Johnson's power-play goal at 1:39 of the third period.
Save of the Game
Vasilevskiy's save on Kevin Labanc at 14:48 of the third.
Highlight of the Game
Kucherov's breakaway goal at 15:37 of the third.
They said it
"[Jones] was great. The score wasn't indicative of how he played. He was giving us a chance to win and unfortunately we weren't able to get that second one to take the lead. And then we gave up some breakaways at the end." -- Sharks center Logan Couture "We went 20-plus games and barely changed a thing. Tyler Johnson was earning more ice [time] and starting to earn it on the road trip. We went on a four-game road trip and scored three even-strength goals and two of them were by defensemen. We needed to change something and it worked out." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper
Need to know
With 127 NHL goals, Kucherov is tied with Vinny Prospal for sixth in Lightning history. ... Sharks center Joe Thornton, defenseman Brent Burns and Pavelski each had a five-game point streak end.
What's next
Sharks: At the Washington Capitals on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSWA, NBCSCA, NHL.TV) Lightning: Host the New York Islanders on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SUN, MSG+2, NHL.TV)
