Brayden Point scored the eventual game-winner and added an assist, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-1 home-opening victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel each added a goal and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Lightning, who have won back-to-back games to start the season. Nicholas Paul added two assists.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for his second win of the season and ninth career win over the Canucks.
Conor Garland had the lone Vancouver goal, and Arturs Silovs stopped 24 shots. The Canucks, who opened a four-game trip Tuesday, are winless in three games to start the season (0-1-2).
Kucherov got the Lightning on the board at 3:55 of the opening period, snapping Darren Raddysh’s feed past Silovs for his fourth goal of the season. Kucherov, last season’s Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s leading scorer, has four goals and an assist through two games.
Point doubled the Lightning lead at 7:43 of the middle frame, one-timing Jake Guentzel’s pass past Silovs for his second of the season. With the assist, Guentzel has 21 points (12 goals and nine assists) in 13 career games against the Canucks.
The Canucks outshot the Lightning 9-5 in the middle period but could not find the back of the net.
Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead 39 seconds into the third. Cirelli redirected Hagel’s centering pass between the pads of Silovs for his first of the season.
Garland got the Canucks on the board, tapping in the rebound off Brock Boeser’s redirect at 4:14 of the third period for his second goal of the season.
Hagel added an empty-netter with 1:46 remaining in the third.
Tuesday was the first of two meetings between the Canucks and Lightning this season. The two teams conclude the season series on Dec. 8 in Vancouver.
–Field Level Media
