Lightning score four against Devils in first period, win third straight

TAMPA -- Brayden Point had two goals and an assist to help the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Amalie Arena on Sunday.

Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette also scored for the Lightning (17-6-1), who have won three straight games. Louis Domingue made 33 saves.
The Lightning scored four goals in the first period for the second straight game.
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"Obviously that's how I want us to start every game," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. "If we keep doing that, good things are going to happen. I thought we played a good 60 minutes. Maybe we sat back a little in the third period, but that happens in today's hockey."
Devils goaltender Cory Schneider allowed five goals on 35 shots and has yet to win this season (0-5-0). Stefan Noesen and Jesper Bratt scored for New Jersey (9-10-3), which is 2-9-0 on the road.

"It's tough when your goalie gives away the game in the first period," said Schneider, who is 0-15-2 in his past 17 regular-season starts. "It's not fair to my teammates. This team is hard enough to play in their building. To spot them a 4-1 … it's just disappointing for me."
Killorn made it 1-0 at 3:19 when he banked a shot off Schneider's back after Mathieu Joseph forced a turnover.
"It was a bad play on my part and I compounded it by knocking it in myself," Schneider said. "That's first-year pro stuff. That's not stuff that should be happening to me right now. It's nobody else's fault but mine."
Point's power-play goal from the slot at 7:21 gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead. Johnson made it 3-0 at 9:15 with a one-timer off a pass from Point.
Noesen scored at 9:39 of the first period off a rebound of Brent Seney's shot to make it 3-1.
Paquette's fourth goal of the season at 11:25 of the first gave the Lightning a 4-1 lead.

"It's nice [to score]," Paquette said. "I think [our line] plays the same game, all three of us, and we've gotten some bounces. I think we're playing hard, playing the right way and being rewarded."
Point was credited with his second goal of the game at 8:30 of the second period after Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen tried to send the puck to the boards, but it went past Schneider.
"That's an unfortunate bounce for him," Point said. "He took the puck from me and tried to wrap it around the net. It kind of hooked on his stick and went in. You take them when you can get them."
Bratt made it 5-2 at 5:21 of the third period with a shot from the top of the left face-off circle.
"I thought we continued to play and gathered ourselves," Devils coach John Hynes said. "The score got away a little bit, but I don't think the score was indicative of where the game was."

They said it

"They're a very tenacious team. They are very good down low and very good on the rush and obviously on the power play. You give them those three areas and they are going to beat you." -- Devils captain Andy Greene
"You're making the other team chase right away. You just have to make sure the guys are doing the right things and thinking about our net." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper

Need to know

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos left the ice holding his arm after he was cross-checked by Greene at 17:55 of the second period. He returned for the start of the third. … Schneider hasn't won since Dec. 27, 2017, against the Detroit Red Wings. … Devils center Nico Hischier played in his 100th NHL game. … The Lightning are 7-0-0 against Metropolitan Division teams. ... Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov had two assists to extend his point streak to six games (two goals, 12 assists). He is third in the NHL with 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists). ... Lightning defenseman Dan Girardi had his 200th NHL assist. ... Point has nine goals in November.

What's next

Devils: At the Florida Panthers on Monday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Lightning: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, PRIME, NHL.TV)