Nhl Scores: Lightning stay hot, top Toronto 4-2 for sixth straight win
In nhl scores from Wednesday night, Brayden Point had two goals and an assist to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Benchmark International Arena, a win that stretched Tampa Bay's streak to six straight and its home streak to 10 in a row.
Point finished with two goals and an assist, Nikita Kucherov added a goal and two assists as he extended his point streak to 11 games, and Gage Goncalves also had a goal and two assists for the Lightning (38-14-4). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves in the Tampa Bay net. John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs, Matthew Knies recorded a goal and an assist, and Anthony Stolarz stopped 32 shots for Toronto (27-22-9), a club that had won its previous three games before the Olympic break.
Two early Tampa Bay goals were erased in the opening period when Toronto challenged both for offside: Kucherov’s tally at 4: 00 and a Point goal at 15: 20 were overturned, keeping the scoreless late into the first. Lightning assistant coach Rob Zettler said of Kucherov, "He's kind of the straw that stirs the drink for us. " Zettler later noted, "Both good plays, great play by [Charle-Edouard] D'Astous to [Brandon Hagel] and 'Kuch' scores one, but I saw them and they both looked like they were offside. It is what it is. Their video guy did a good job tonight. "
Point opens scoring in second, Goncalves strikes 51 seconds later
Point finally put Tampa Bay on the board at 7: 07 of the second period when Charle-Edouard D'Astous fed him at the hashmarks; Point held the puck through the slot and finished on the forehand to Stolarz's short side. Point said, "I thought there was some good and there was obviously some stuff we want to clean up. I think both sides would say that. A few too many high-risk plays and turnovers, but a lot of the game I thought we played pretty good. " Just 51 seconds after Point's goal, Goncalves extended the lead to 2-0 with a breakaway at 7: 58, taking a pass from Kucherov, who was behind the goal line, and deking to the forehand. That play also gave Kucherov his 700th NHL assist on the goal.
Kucherov adds a third, D'Astous praises the trio
Kucherov made it 3-0 at 2: 59 of the third period on a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Goncalves. D'Astous singled out the line, saying, "They were really good tonight. They were awesome to watch. " Toronto cut the deficit when Tavares scored a power-play wrist shot from the left circle at 16: 19; the Maple Leafs had pulled Stolarz and used an extra attacker for a 6-on-4 advantage on the goal.
Coach reactions and game details
Toronto coach Craig Berube said, "I thought we played a good, solid first period, " but added frustration over execution: "We had three 2-on-1s in the first period and didn’t get a shot off. We have to execute those plays better. " Berube also pointed to Tampa Bay's second-period surge: "In the second period, we were flat early, and they got a couple of goals. That is the difference in the game for me. In the end, you give them a couple of free ones, and they capitalize on them. We took four penalties tonight. " The game was played at Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday; Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 32 saves for Tampa Bay while Stolarz matched him with 32 saves for Toronto.
GDT: Leafs at Lightning and a small online note
A separate gameday thread titled "GDT: Leafs at Lightning" included the note: Code: `Text` used as sarcasm font at PPP. Unclear in the provided context is whether that gameday thread affected in-arena presentation or social coverage on Wednesday.
For nhl scores context and next steps, the provided materials do not list the teams' next scheduled games; the next confirmed milestone is unclear in the provided context.
