Kucherov Rallies Lightning to Win over Canucks
By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports
Nikita Kucherov scored twice, and Jake Guentzel scored the game-winning goal as the Tampa Bay Lightning rattled off four unanswered goals to beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-2. The Bolts remain unbeaten at home after five games and improved to 6-2-0 overall.
Vancouver overcame a sluggish start and got on the board first when Linus Karlsson scored at the 15:32 mark of the first period. The Canucks managed only 14 shots all game.
The goal came just moments after the Lightning killed off a Vancouver power play.
Tampa Bay opened the game with 11 shots on 24 scoring chances in the first period, but couldn't break through.
To add insult to injury, the Canucks added a second goal at the 4:35 mark of the second period, further deflating the Bolts' hopes of keeping their home winning streak intact.
Canucks center Elias Pettersson scored on the power play after Lightning forward Brayden Point tripped up Jonathan Lekkerimaki. A broken play by the Tampa Bay penalty kill unit sent the puck behind the Bolts' net to a waiting Pettersson, who flicked it in.
The Benchmark International Arena crowd groaned at the Bolts' misfortune as Vancouver took an unlikely two-goal lead.
Cue Kucherov.
Kucherov Sparks the Rally
Kucherov sparked the Lightning rally with a power-play goal just 1:55 after the Canucks took the two-goal lead.
Liam Ohgren was sent off for hooking JJ Moser at 5:35, and the struggling Lightning power-play unit took the ice.
Tampa Bay's special teams unit has scored only twice in 27 attempts this season, a disappointing 7.4% success rate that raises concerns.
Kucherov capitalized on the Bolts' lone power-play opportunity, blasting his own rebound past Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen to get Tampa Bay on the scoreboard.
The Lightning were back in business, and Kucherov wasn't finished.
The Hart Trophy winner took an immediate faceoff draw from center Brayden Point and powered it over Lankinen's shoulder to even the score at the 11:23 mark.
“I think Pointer’s been great this season," Kucherov said. "I have a lot of confidence in him, and if he’s in the dot, I have a lot of confidence that he’s going to win (the puck), and fortunate for me that that went in.”
Kucherov scored his fourth multi-point game in eight games this season and earned the 19th multi-goal period of his career, passing Point for third-most in franchise history behind Steven Stamkos (33) and Matrin St. Louis (24).
“It was good," Kucherov said. "We stuck to the system, and when you’re putting pucks to the net, good things happen.”
Kucherov extended his goal streak against the Canucks to five, dating back to October 15, 2024.
"He's really got that shooter's mentality going on right now, and I love it," Cooper said. "That's how pucks go in the net, especially for guys like him. I was a little bummed that the one from center ice didn't go in; it would have been pretty cool to see the hats come down."
"But I like the shooting mentality he's got going on right now. It's great."
Guentzel Grabs the Win
The Lightning outshot the Canucks, 35-14, including 15-5 in that crucial second period. Thirteen of the 15 second-period shots came after the Canucks went up by two.
Tampa Bay shut down the Vancouver offense from there, holding them to six shots the rest of the game.
Guentzel scored the game-winning goal at the 2:04 mark of the third period when his slap shot deflected off Ohgren's stick and cracked the net behind Lankinen.
Guentzel has quietly put together a strong start to the season, with four goals and nine points.
"He's another super smart player, and you can put him in different positions," Cooper said of Guentzel. "He plays the wing, but he takes a lot of faceoffs for us, and he's like a silent assassin."
"All of a sudden you look up, he's pretty quiet, and he's got goals and points. He's just a really, really smart player."
Pontus Holmberg put the game away at the 15:57 mark with a great faceoff play in the Vancouver zone.
Despite the four unanswered goals and come-from-behind win, Kucherov felt the Lightning still had much work to do. When asked how he felt about where the team was after winning six of their last seven, he simply said under his hoodie:
"Not there yet. We can be a lot better."
Thunderstruck Three Stars of the Game
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay. Two goals to rally the Lightning back from a two-goal deficit.
Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay. Scored the game-winning goal and added an assist.
Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver. Stopped 31 of 35 shots and kept Vancouver in the game until the Lightning pulled away.
Up Next
The Tampa Bay Lightning begin a three-game road trip that begins in Sin City on Tuesday as they take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Game time is 10:30 pm.
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