Cirelli propels Lightning to win against Devils

TAMPA -- Anthony Cirelli scored with 8:05 remaining in the third period, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Cirelli broke a 2-2 tie when he stuffed in a rebound in front.
"We just wanted to get a lot of shots on net, get a lot of traffic in front," Cirelli said. "We had three pretty grimy goals where guys were getting to the net and making plays."

Alex Killorn and Mathieu Joseph scored for the Lightning (29-10-5), who have won six of their past seven (6-1-0). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves.
Damon Severson had a goal and an assist for the Devils (15-22-5), who have lost three straight. Jon Gillies made 32 saves.
"They're the best team in the League until someone knocks them off," Devils forward Jack Hughes said of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. "They know how to win. We'll get to that point one day. That's a better hockey team than us, but we played a really good game tonight and it's disappointing we didn't get two points."
Severson gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 4:33 of the first period. His shot from the point got through traffic and beat Vasilevskiy on the stick side.
Killorn's power-play goal tied it 1-1 at 1:46 of the second period. He gathered a rebound in front and slipped the puck past Gillies.
"If you're not going to go to those areas to score and compete in those areas, you're not going to win," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "You get into these one-goal games, you're going to need those, and we had just enough tonight."
After Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta was assessed a four-minute penalty for high-sticking at 12:21, the Devils struggled to keep the puck in the zone during the power play. They gave up a breakaway to Cirelli, who was awarded a penalty shot at 13:50 when Severson was called for hooking.
Gillies stopped Cirelli on the penalty shot, but Joseph put the Lightning ahead 2-1 with a shorthanded goal at 14:16, scoring on his own rebound.
"We did exactly what we didn't need to do," Hughes said. "Obviously we gave up the penalty shot and we gave up the goal too. It's not very good out of us, which is disappointing because we've been really good on the power play as of late. That was a chance for us to make a huge difference."
Joseph said, "Sometimes their power play is a little on its heels defensively. Fortunate bounce. Good save at first, but the puck was right there. I'll take it, but good bounce for sure."

Hughes tied it 2-2 at 10:55 of the third period when he scored on a rebound at the left side of the net after Jesper Bratt's shot caromed off the end boards.
"I thought our puck movement was excellent," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "Speed going up ice, skated really well, our execution with the puck movement was real good. Their goalie made some big-time saves, even at the start of the third period. But there was a lot to like inside the game."
NOTES: The Lightning were without forward Nikita Kucherov, who was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Tuesday. … Tampa Bay forward Ondrej Palat had an assist after missing five games with an upper-body injury. ... ... Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman had an assist and has scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past seven games. … Devils defenseman Ty Smith played 16:31 after missing three games with an upper-body injury. ... New Jersey scored a power-play goal for a sixth straight game. ... Bratt had two assists and has scored 10 points (five goals, five assists) during a personal seven-game point streak.