Point scores twice for Lightning in victory against Blues

TAMPA -- Brayden Point had two goals and an assist for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues at Amalie Arena on Friday.

Brandon Hagel had a goal and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov had three assists for the Lightning (12-7-1), who have won five of their past six games. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.
"We're starting to gel a little bit more, I think," Point said. "Plays are becoming cleaner, we're breaking out cleaner, pucks are hitting tape and guys are feeling more confident. The execution of the game plan has been much better."
Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou each had a goal and an assist for the Blues (10-10-0), who have lost consecutive games after a seven-game winning streak. Jordan Binnington made 22 saves.
"You've got to have urgency right away in the game," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "If you don't, you can get behind. Every individual, it's their job to be ready to go with urgency, doing the right things and making hard plays."

Point gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 3:29 of the first period with a backhand shot from point-blank range, and Alex Killorn scored 28 seconds later at 3:57 with a shot from the right face-off circle to make it 2-0.
Point extended the lead to 3-0 at 8:04 with a power-play goal from the slot.
"I think both teams were into it right away," Point said. "It was nice to get a couple of goals early and get a jump on the game. I thought it was a fun game and a good atmosphere, especially in the first period."

Buchnevich cut it to 3-1 on a power play at 16:50, and Kyrou made it 3-2 at 6:24 of the second period with a shot from the right circle that beat Vasilevskiy stick side.
Hagel responded 18 seconds later at 6:42 from the high slot to give Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead.
"A couple bad plays to begin the game, and we get behind," Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. "I thought we played a good second and third period. Tonight was a case of getting behind the 8-ball early and trying to fight your way back."
Paul scored an empty-net goal at 16:12 of the third period for the 5-2 final.
"I think we were a little hesitant and didn't really trust our game like we needed to," St. Louis captain Ryan O'Reilly said. "It was frustrating. It got away from us quick. They're a good team, they made plays and we were chasing."

NOTES: The Blues conclude a three-game road trip Saturday at the Florida Panthers. … Kyrou has a seven-game point streak (three goals, eight assists). … Buchnevich has five goals in his past five games and nine points during a five-game point streak. … St. Louis forward Robert Thomas had two assists and extended his point streak to five games (one goal, seven assists). … Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo returned after missing eight games because of an upper-body injury. He had two shots, two hits and one blocked shot in 12:16 of ice time. … It was Vasilevskiy's 135th win in his 200th home game. Jacques Plante (138) is the only goalie in NHL history to have more wins in his first 200 home games. … Lightning forward Rudolfs Balcers sustained an upper-body injury on his first shift after a check from Faulk. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said Balcers is unlikely to play the next three games. ... Lightning forward Steven Stamkos had two assists and extended his point streak to six games (three goals, seven assists). He has 995 career points. … Tampa Bay defenseman Cal Foote returned after missing five games with a lower-body injury. He had three hits, one shot on goal and one blocked shot in 17:03.