Kucherov’s 3 points help Lightning top Avalanche

TAMPA -- Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who scored four consecutive goals in the third period of a 6-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

"We are sticking with the game plan," Kucherov said. "[To] help the team win."

The game featured the NHL’s top two scoring leaders in Kucherov and Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon. Kucherov increased his total to 93 points (36 goals, 57 assists) and MacKinnon had two assists to raise his to 89 (32 goals, 57 assists).

"He's just been committed, every single game," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of Kucherov. "Just the way he works all over the ice. He's just a gifted player...his intelligence when he plays. He is a hard guy to defend, and I thought he was fantastic tonight. It was a lot of fun watching those big names go at it."

Kucherov also extended his point streak to nine games (eight goals, 10 assists).

Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point each had a goal and an assist, and Brandon Hagel had two assists for the Lightning (30-20-5), who have won three in a row and 11 of their past 14 games. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.

"The effort is there, these aren't perfect games by any means," Stamkos said. "But when you get to this stretch of the year every point is huge. I thought tonight was probably the best in terms of the defensive zone structure, especially against their top line, which is really dangerous."

Bowen Byram scored twice, and Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche (33-18-4), who went 1-4-1 in their six-game road trip coming out of the All-Star break. Justus Annunen made 33 saves.

"Not to make excuses for ourselves, but I think we're tired," Byram said. "It will be nice to sleep in our own bed and recoup a little before we play [the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday]. We're looking forward to that."

Stamkos tied it 3-3 at 4:00 of the third period, scoring on the forehand to finish a breakaway set up by an outlet pass from Kucherov.

Kucherov gave Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead at 8:13, scoring from the low slot after Point found him open with a backdoor pass.

"It was a great effort by ‘Stammer’ and [Victor Hedman] at the line to keep it in," Point said. "Then it's kind of a 2-on-1 down low, so I got past the defenseman and ‘Kuch’ was there. You just count numbers and try to make a play."

Anthony Cirelli extended it to 5-3 at 19:28 with an empty-net goal before Nick Perbix also scored into an empty net six seconds later at 19:34 for the 6-3 final.

"There were times where we played to our game plan and we were generating opportunities," Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said. "Just some mishaps here and there and those are the ones that cost us whether it's just me making really bad mistakes right now or what."

Byram gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 15:08 of the first period with a chip in from the low slot off a pass by Mikko Rantanen.

Point tied it 1-1 at 17:18 after a clearing attempt by Samuel Girard deflected off Point and past Annunen before Kucherov put the Lightning ahead 2-1 at 18:25 with a one-timer from the right circle.

Byram's second goal tied it 2-2 at 15:03 of the second period, scoring on a loose puck.

Lehkonen gave the Avalanche a 3-2 lead at 3:40 of the third on the power play, a tip-in off a pass from MacKinnon.

"A pretty hard-fought game, especially early," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "It was an entertaining game. I just keep looking at the goals-against we're giving up. ... and it's got to mean more to us. Wanting to win has to mean more to us.

"We turned the puck over on our own too much with poor decisions and execution. It's got to mean more to us to win the hockey games. We're giving up too many goals and too many chances throughout this road trip at times. We've got to break it down and start from square one."

NOTES: Kucherov has 14 three-point games this season, three more than any other player in the NHL. ...MacKinnon took a puck to the face in the second period and temporarily left the game with a bloodied nose. ...Stamkos has his 12th season with at least 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists). ...Byram scored for the first time since December 23. ...Hagel has 13 points (six goals, seven assist) during an eight-game point streak. ...Avalanche forward Ross Colton had an assist in his return to Amalie Arena. Colton had 83 points (47 goals, 36 assists) in 190 regular-season games with the Lighting from 2020-2023. He scored the game-winning goal in the clinching Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, a 1-0 victory against the Montreal Canadiens. Lightning forward Nicholas Paul did not play in the third period and Cooper had no further update on his status.