Carlson scores first two goals with Lightning, who hold off Wild

TAMPA -- John Carlson scored his first two goals with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who held off the Minnesota Wild for a 3-2 win at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday.

Carlson signed a two-year, $17 million contract ($8.5 million average annual value) with the Lightning on July 1. He had a game-high nine shots on goal.

"Good for him," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "Because we need him to do that."

Anthony Cirelli also scored, and Nikita Kucherov had two assists for the Lightning (3-1-0), who won all three games of their homestand. Dennis Hildeby made 34 saves in his debut with Tampa Bay after being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1.

"It was fun, just battling out there," Hildeby said. "We did a good job of keeping it tight and the chances they had were shot off the ice, which is a pretty good recipe. Great, great job at the end there by everyone."

Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Blake Coleman also scored for the Wild (2-1-1), who have lost two in a row. Jesper Wallstedt made 32 saves.

"We've got to play a full 60 (minutes)," Minnesota coach John Hynes said. "I think right off the bat with wall plays and net fronts, I didn't think we played fast and we weren't as sharp. It's not even the sharpness, it's the intensity level we need to play with right off the start."

Cirelli gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 5:26 of the first period when he scored on a redirection Erik Cernak’s point shot.

Carlson’s goal 36 seconds later extended it to 2-0. He converted on a wrist shot from the point that got past Wallstedt with Gage Goncalves providing a netfront screen.

"I kind of got lucky, it was a good screen," Carlson said, "It was a goalie-didn't-see-it kind of goal."

Hughes cut it to 2-1 at 2:32 of the second period, scoring on a shot from the center point that got through traffic and past Hildeby.

"It's hard when they get two quick ones and you're just fighting from behind right away," Wallstedt said. "In the second, we were starting to look better and got some pucks to the net. I thought, overall, we had some looks to tie it. Not maybe our best start, but something to build off of."

Carlson’s power-play goal made it 3-1 at 4:55, a one-timer from the high slot off a pass from Kucherov. It was Tampa Bay’s first goal of the season with the man-advantage after going 0-for-13 in their first three games.

"It was a good play by ‘Kuch’ of looking people off," Carlson said. "We always talk about flipping coverages and find holes and sneak into spots. It was just a nice play, and I got wide open in the middle."

Coleman cut it to 3-2 at 14:01 on the power play, beating Hildeby high glove side from the left circle with Kirill Kaprizov providing the setup pass.

"We weren't very happy with our first, just losing battles and we didn't execute our game plan," Coleman said. "I thought we got better as it went, but you can't put yourself in a hole against a good team."

NOTES: Wild defenseman Olli Maatta was a late scratch with a lower-body injury. Hynes said the injury with Maatta came up after the morning skate but did not provide a further update. … David Spacek was inserted into the lineup and had one shot on goal in 8:23. … Kucherov recorded his 1,130th career point, moving into a tie with Bernie Federko for 66th on the NHL’s all-time list. … Hughes and Jared Spurgeon (one assist) both matched Ryan Suter (four games in 2016-17 and 2015-16) for the longest season-opening point streak by a defenseman in Wild history.