Fresh off a 0-2-1 road trip, the Lightning bounced back in the opener of a five-game homestand, defeating the Canucks 4-3 at AMALIE Arena on Thursday.
Nikita Kucherov scored twice and Nick Paul added a goal and an assist in the victory.
Jonas Johansson got the win in goal, stopping 26 of 29 Vancouver shots.
Next up for the Bolts is a playoff rematch against the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TBL 1, VAN 0
11:10 Nick Paul (3) – Steven Stamkos – PPG
After intercepting a Vancouver clearing attempt, Nick Paul teed up Steven Stamkos for a wide open one-timer at the bottom of the left circle. Thatcher Demko extended to his right to make a fantastic blocker save and denied Stamkos on the rebound as well. With Demko sprawled on the ice after the second stop, Paul swooped in and swept home the rebound for a power play goal.
2nd Period
TBL 1, VAN 1
0:14 Brock Boeser (5) – J.T. Miller
A Mikhail Sergachev pass was intercepted behind the Lightning net by J.T. Miller. He quickly worked the puck out front to Brock Boeser to fire home the game-tying goal 14 seconds into the period.
VAN 2, TBL 1
1:02 Tyler Myers (1) – Elias Pettersson
Less than a minute later, Vancouver scored again to take the lead. A Sergachev clearing attempt was held in by Elias Pettersson at the left point, and he teed up Tyler Myers for a slapshot from the point that beat Jonas Johansson.
VAN 2, TBL 2
15:43 Mikey Eyssimont (1) – Conor Sheary, Nick Perbix
Conor Sheary linked up with Mikey Eyssimont streaking through the neutral zone. Eyssimont skated to the left circle where he picked out the top corner on Demko to level the score at two.
TBL 3, VAN 2
16:52 Nikita Kucherov (3) – Brandon Hagel, Darren Raddysh
Tampa Bay went back in front 1:09 later on Nikita Kucherov’s third goal of the season. Kucherov spun at the top of the right circle and threaded a shot through traffic that beat Demko to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead going into intermission.
3rd Period
TBL 4, VAN 2
4:42 Nikita Kucherov (4) – Nick Paul, Brayden Point – PPG
From along the goal line on the far side of the ice, Paul got a pass through to Kucherov stationed below the right circle. Kucherov quickly one-timed it past Demko for a power play goal that extended the lead to two.
TBL 4, VAN 3
18:11 J.T. Miller (2) – Filip Hronek, Elias Pettersson
With the Vancouver net empty, things tightened back up inside the final two minutes when Miller scored on a rebound in front of the net to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to one.
