Lightning defeat Coyotes to extend winning streak to six

GLENDALE, Ariz.-- The Tampa Bay Lightning are perfect in December.
Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning in their season-high sixth straight win, 4-1 against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Thursday.

Vladislav Namestnikov scored for Tampa Bay (23-6-2), which matched the third longest winning streak in Lightning history, without a loss since Nov. 29. Their record for consecutive wins is nine, set from Feb. 18 to March 5, 2016.
WATCH: [All Lightning vs. Coyotes highlights]
"We're feeling good about ourselves right now," captain Steven Stamkos said.
Arizona (7-22-5) lost its fifth straight game and is 1-6-2 in its past nine. Clayton Keller scored his first goal since Nov. 6, a stretch of 18 games.
The Lightning made it 1-0 on a first-period power play with Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski in the box for slashing. Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta stopped Stamkos with a diving save, using the paddle of his stick, but Namestnikov was in front to sweep in the rebound at 11:30.
Point made it 2-0 41 seconds later when he got behind defenseman Jakob Chychrun and took a pass from Ondrej Palat on the right wing. Point opened Raanta's pads with a deke and slipped a backhand between them for his 14th goal of the season. He has a goal in five straight games, an NHL career-high streak.

Kucherov made it 3-0 at 6:11 of the second period with his 22nd goal on a long shot through traffic from the left point. Tampa Bay outshot Arizona 35-18 in the first two periods.
"We weren't sharp at all. We were dull," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "We did some dumb things out there. I don't know what it is, but we looked really tired and some guys just kind of gave in."
Keller scored his 12th of the season at 11:29 of the second period to make it 3-1, and Johnson scored 31 seconds into the third period for a 4-1 lead. He has a six-game point streak (four goals, seven assists).
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said they entered the game wary of the Coyotes after Arizona swept the season series last season. Tampa Bay missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs by one point and Cooper mentioned a 5-3 loss to the Coyotes at Amalie Arena on March 21.
"We had a 3-2 lead against these guys in our building and ended up losing the game," he said. "We look back at that game and think maybe that was the one that costs us the playoffs, so our locker room was well aware of that."
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves for his fifth straight win. He leads the NHL with 21.
Raanta made 44 saves.

Goal of the game

Point's goal at 12:11 of the first period.

Save of the game

Vasilevskiy's save on Christian Fischer at 1:12 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Namestnikov's goal at 11:30 of the first period after Raanta's paddle save.

They said it

"Between the whistles, from the drop of the puck to the end of the game, that kid's always competing." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper on forward Brayden Point
"I think many of the guys can look at themselves in the mirror and pretty much say, 'I wasn't ready for this challenge.'" -- Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta

Need to know

Lightning forward Ryan Callahan left the game holding his right forearm with 12:59 left in the third period after getting tangled with Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Callahan fell to the ice and Ekman-Larsson appeared to land on the arm. Cooper said the injury appears to be longer than day to day and he expected to know more Friday. … Kucherov remained tied with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for the NHL lead in goals. … Tocchet said Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (upper body) is several days away from returning to practice. Hjalmarsson hasn't played since Nov. 28.

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What's next

Lightning: At the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, SUN, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)