The Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up a successful four-game road trip to the Northwest this weekend by splitting a pair of games in Alberta.<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay earned seven of a possible eight points on the trip, going 3-0-1 to improve to 43-21-5 this season. The trip ended with a back-to-back which included a 5-2 victory in Edmonton on Saturday before a 4-3 overtime loss in Calgary on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly was a key moment in the season for us,\u201d defenseman Ryan McDonagh said of the trip. \u201cComing out of the Olympic break we haven\u2019t really given ourselves a chance in games, so now we\u2019ve got a lot of examples of what works for us and what doesn\u2019t and found a little bit of a recipe here for us. Every game\u2019s gonna be huge. It doesn\u2019t matter who we\u2019re playing against, we\u2019ve got to keep getting points.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lightning will look to keep the standings points stacking when they return for a seven-game homestand that begins Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild (40-19-12).<\/p>\n
Kucherov magic makes for Saturday win<\/p>\n
The list of words a person could use to describe Nikita Kucherov\u2019s 2025-26 season is expansive, ranging from magnificent to league-leading and many other synonyms for \u2018very good\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Make sure \u2018historic\u2019 is on the list after Saturday\u2019s 5-2 win in Edmonton.<\/p>\n
Kucherov scored two goals and two assists for a four-point game to lead Tampa Bay to victory, becoming the third player in NHL history to post three-plus points in five straight road games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no words, simple as that,\u201d defenseman JJ Moser said of Kucherov. \u201cHe does it every night and it\u2019s not even talked about enough how impressive it is to just perform like this night after night. There\u2019s simply no words for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both teams earned their share of offensive zone time in the first period on Saturday, and Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made multiple stops on high-danger scoring chances until the Oilers finally cracked the scoreless seal with 22 seconds remaining in the first period on a redirection from captain Connor McDavid.<\/p>\n
An entertaining second period tilted the game in favor of the visitors, and Kucherov was at the center of it all.<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay wasted no time in tying the game, as Kucherov kicked a puck to the slot and Anthony Cirelli slipped his rebound chance through the leg pads of Oilers goalie Connor Ingram for the 1-1 goal 1:37 into the second period.<\/p>\n
A power-play goal gave the visitors\u2019 their first lead of the game when Kucherov dished the puck to Jake Guentzel at the goal line and the latter skated to the front of the net to rip the 2-1 score inside the far post.<\/p>\n
More special teams\u2014and Kucherov\u2014 extended Tampa Bay\u2019s advantage with 3:02 left in the second period.<\/p>\n
Defenseman Emil Lilleberg stood up McDavid on a power-play chance, and Moser then lobbed the puck to a waiting Kucherov at the far blue line. Kucherov broke in alone and out-waited Ingram to sneak a shot past the goalie\u2019s blocker side for his first career shorthanded goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a hell of a play by Mo, hell of a pass,\u201d Kucherov said. \u201cI\u2019m happy to play PK if needed. I think I proved it today that I can play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oilers got a bounce when a Lightning pass in the defensive zone took an odd bounce and rolled into the net to reduce the lead to a single goal in the third period, but Tampa Bay closed out the win.<\/p>\n
Brandon Hagel liked his team\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe faced some adversity, a flukey one that went in and then we were able to shut it out,\u201d Hagel said. \u201cIt\u2019s another step in the right direction to get us out of this little funk.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Hagel who stole the puck below the goal line and dished to a waiting Kucherov at the net for his second goal and fourth point of the night that made it 4-2 with 4:28 left in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat kid\u2019s on quite a run. I don\u2019t know how many players in this league have 4 points in a game period, let alone the amount of times he gets them. It\u2019s pretty magnificent,\u201d Cooper said of Kucherov. \u201cPretty cool that he got his first ever shorty tonight, that was a lot of fun on the bench. I\u2019m blessed to be able to see him every night. I love when we get to come here out west\u2026They\u2019re blessed to see (McDavid) every single night and Leon Draisaitl, and you get to throw Kuch in the mix too, it\u2019s the greats at playing this game. So it\u2019s fun for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cirelli added a long distance empty-net goal to cap the 5-2 victory.<\/p>\n
Kucherov\u2019s four-point night allowed him to surpass McDavid for the NHL scoring lead this season. His point total hit 118 points on the year as he became just the third player in NHL history to score three-plus points in five consecutive road games, joining Mario Lemieux (1992-93, 1987-88) and Wayne Gretzky (1985-86).<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think about it too much,\u201d Kucherov said of overtaking the scoring race. \u201cOur goal is a Stanley Cup, and I think that\u2019s what we\u2019re focusing on here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hagel and Cirelli each finished with a pair of points for Tampa Bay, and Vasilevskiy made 26 saves in the win.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we showed a reaction after the first period,\u201d Moser said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t happy with that first and then we showed a reaction, started playing the right way and then it turned our way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benjamin\u2019s Three Stars:<\/p>\n
Nikita Kucherov, TBL (2 goals, 2 assists)
\nAnthony Cirelli, TBL (2 goals)
\nBrandon Hagel, TBL (2 assists)<\/p>\n
Lightning force overtime in Calgary Sunday<\/p>\n
The Tampa Bay Lightning pushed back on Sunday night, overcoming a two-goal deficit to earn a standings point with a 4-3 overtime loss against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.<\/p>\n
The Lightning fought through a 3-1 deficit to force overtime on Sunday and finished the weeklong road trip 3-0-1.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s the initial sting of losing the game in overtime, but when you peel back the onion a little bit, we came on a nine-day road trip, four games, we took seven of eight (points). In this one\u2026we\u2019re down 3-1 halfway through the game and we get a point out of it\u2026 There\u2019s a lot of good to take out of this, especially with the way the Eastern Conference is going\u2026I\u2019m proud of the guys on this trip. We needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay was the first team on the scoresheet in Calgary on Sunday thanks to a point shot by McDonagh that took a bounce off a Flames defender near the net 7:25 after the opening puck drop.<\/p>\n
Calgary then scored three unanswered goals, including two in the final 3:35 of the first period to take the lead.<\/p>\n
Victor Olofsson tied the score at 1-1 with his shot from the right circle, and forward Morgan Frost snuck to the front of the net for an open chance and the 2-1 goal with 3:08 left in the first period.<\/p>\n
A breakaway for Flames captain Mikael Backlund ended with a slap shot goal just under eight minutes into the middle frame before Tampa Bay cut the deficit to a single goal.<\/p>\n
Defenseman Darren Raddysh scored his 19th goal of the season three minutes after the Backlund goal, winding up to rip his slap shot one-timer from the point following a pass by Kucherov\u2014the latter\u2019s 119th point of the season.<\/p>\n
Raddysh\u2019s 19 goals this season are third-most by any defenseman in a single season in team history.<\/p>\n
The Lightning appeared to tie the game late in the middle frame, but the Flames got a key shot block at the net. Calgary then looked to steal a 4-2 advantage when they scored on a 2-on-1 chance with 11 seconds left in the period, but a successful coach\u2019s challenge by the Lightning nullified the score.<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay took advantage of their good fortune, and it was forward Pontus Holmberg who tied the game with just 4:20 remaining. Yanni Gourde got in on the forecheck and passed to Holmberg at the left hashmark, where a shot slipped through the defense for a 3-3 game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were down two, so it was good coming back and taking one point,\u201d Holmberg said. \u201cIt\u2019s important points right now, so it was good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line of Zemgus Girgensons, Gourde and Holmberg was all over the ice on Sunday, particularly on the forecheck. Sunday\u2019s tally was Holmberg\u2019s 10th of the season to give him his first double-digit goalscoring season in the NHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat line is about as consistent as it comes from us and counted on in all situations,\u201d McDonagh said. \u201cThey want to keep the puck out of our net but know they\u2019ve got to contribute and put it in the net for us at times too, and all their hard work was paid off there tonight with a big goal by Holmy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calgary finished the night 26 seconds into overtime with a Ryan Strome chance at the right hashmark that ricocheted off a Lightning player.<\/p>\n
Seven different Bolts registered a point in the overtime loss. Goalie Jonas Johansson made 25 saves, including several key stops to keep it a one-goal game before Tampa Bay\u2019s tying tally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re traveling in time zones\u2026these are tough ones,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cWe got into the hotel room at 2:30 in the morning and you\u2019ve got to play a rested team. For the guys to come back in that game, we\u2019ll take that. There\u2019s a lot of good things that we\u2019ve done on this road trip, but now we just can\u2019t rest coming home\u2026We have to keep this mentality going home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benjamin\u2019s Three Stars:<\/p>\n
Ryan Strome, CGY (Overtime GWG)
\nDevin Cooley, CGY (32 SVs)
\nPontus Holmberg, TBL (Game-tying goal)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up a successful four-game road trip to the Northwest this weekend by splitting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-202056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}