Point scores twice to help Lightning cool off Predators

TAMPA -- Brayden Point scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Nashville Predators 5-2 at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Point's second goal, a wrist shot from the left face-off circle, gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead at 2:14.
Corey Perry, Nicholas Paul and Brandon Hagel scored for the Lightning (16-9-1). Steven Stamkos had two assists to extend his point streak to 12 games, and Brian Elliott made 34 saves for his sixth straight win.
"All he's doing is winning games for us," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of Elliott. "He's making the big saves for us when we need them. He keeps us in it, and tonight we gave him a little run support."

Cooper became the fastest coach to 450 NHL wins, reaching the mark in his 741st game, one fewer than Bruce Boudreau.
"I've been privileged to be behind the bench with a lot of phenomenal players ... some of the best in the world," Cooper said. "When you win games, it's your players that win games for you."
Mark Jankowski and Alexandre Carrier scored for the Predators (12-10-2), who had their three-game winning streak end in their first game in six days. Juuse Saros made 27 saves.
"We know that coming here they are going to be fast and start strong in their building," Carrier said. "It caught us a bit off guard, but we had chances in the second."
Point gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 1:16 of the first period after taking a stretch pass from Ian Cole and tucking the puck around Saros' left pad.

Perry extended it to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 2:53 when he one-timed a rebound in the low slot.
Jankowski cut it to 2-1 with a short-handed goal at 10:51 when he kept the puck on a 2-on-1 after forcing a turnover.
"We were pressuring them hard," Jankowski said. "… On that one they flubbed the pass a little bit. ... They kind of shaded to [Yakov Trenin], so I had the shot."
Carrier tied it 2-2 at 12:36 of the second period on his own rebound from the left circle.
"The game was in the balance [at] 2-2," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "We gave up an odd-man rush and we turned the puck over. We didn't have the attention to detail in the third period."
After Point put the Lightning ahead on a 2-on-1, Paul made it 4-2 from the top of the right circle at 7:10 of the third.
"We knew we had to answer in the third," Paul said. "Once we got those pucks to the net, winning those battles and working them down low ... our game really started gaining momentum."

Hagel scored a short-handed goal at 15:40 for the 5-2 final.
The Lightning became the last team in the NHL to score a short-handed goal this season. The Predators also hadn't scored one before Thursday.
"I've had how many breakaways and of course that one goes in," Hagel said. "Finally got it out of the way. I feel like we aren't cursed anymore."
NOTES: Stamkos has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) during his streak. ... Cooper is 450-229-62, all with the Lightning, since 2012-13. ... Three of Carrier's five NHL goals have come against Tampa Bay. He hadn't scored in 25 games dating to April 23 of last season, when he had a goal in a 6-2 loss to the Lightning here. ... Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who was placed on injured reserve Monday but is traveling with them,
received a video tribute in the first period
. He was traded to Nashville in the offseason after five seasons with Tampa Bay, including two Stanley Cup championships (2020, 2021). McDonagh is out 2-4 weeks with an upper-body injury.