Vasilevskiy makes 22 saves in season debut, Lightning cruise past Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves in his season debut for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who cruised to an 8-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Friday.

Vasilevskiy missed the first 20 games this season after having microdiscectomy surgery to address a lumbar disk herniation on Sept. 28.

“The guys played unbelievably in front of me,” Vasilevskiy said. “Just lots of blocked shots (18), obviously the goal support. Just remarkable. Couldn’t be more perfect for the first game.

“Still really hard on my body. Obviously, the game is much harder than practice, but the first one is [over] and just moving on.”

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper was happy to have Vasilevskiy back in the lineup.

“He’s one of the best players on our team, if not the best,” Cooper said. “It’s a momentum swing when you get to have your full arsenal. When you have the guys you’re used to having, it definitely helps. I think the guys really dug in for him tonight.”

Nikita Kucherov had two goals and four assists, Brayden Point had a hat trick and two assists, and Brandon Hagel had a goal and two assists for the Lightning (10-6-5), who are 4-0-1 in their past five games.

Kucherov leads the NHL with 15 goals and 35 points this season.

“The power play executed well (4-for-5), and that gave us momentum. I thought we played better as the game went on,” Kucherov said. “You’re just trying to play the right way and follow the game plan.”

Antti Raanta allowed all eight goals on 14 shots for the Hurricanes (11-8-0). It is the first time in NHL history since save percentage was officially tracked (1955-56) that a team's only goalie in a game stopped less than 50 percent of the shots he faced.

Stefan Noesen gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 18:12 of the first period, roofing a one-timer from in front off a pass from behind the net by Jack Drury.

The Hurricanes outshot the Lightning 8-1 in the first period.

“Perfect first period. We do exactly what we wanted to do and then we took three poor penalties, and that’s what they do,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They sit and wait for that, and they made us pay tonight.”

Steven Stamkos tied it 1-1 at 1:34 of the second period, scoring a power-play goal with a one-timer from the left face-off dot off a backhand pass from Point.

Kucherov put the Lightning ahead 2-1 at 5:40 with another power-play goal, this one coming on a one-timer from the right face-off dot off a cross-ice pass from Hagel.

“It’s one guy (Kucherov), clearly,” Brind’Amour said. “For sure, they have other guys, but it’s clearly that one. Everyone knows it’s getting there, and they do a great job of getting him the puck.”

Carolina was assessed another penalty eight seconds later, and six seconds after that, Point pushed it to 3-1 when he scored into an open net from the left post.

“I think we were just capitalizing on our looks,” Point said. “They made it extremely tough for us to get in and set up, but when we did, we were able to create a decent chance.”

Michael Bunting cut it to 3-2 at 14:45 with his own power-play goal, a slap shot from the high slot off a face-off win by Andrei Svechnikov.

Hagel responded to make it 4-2 at 5:33 of the third period, scoring short side off a cross-ice pass from Point.

“The game just gets a little slower and you start making crisp plays,” Point said. “Tonight, in the second half of the second (period) and in the third, we were doing that. We were making passes on the tape and using our speed.”

Luke Glendening extended the lead to 5-2 on a wraparound at 6:53, and Point scored with a backhand in front off a pass from Nick Perbix to make it 6-2 at 10:41.

Kucherov made it 7-2 at 16:45 with a shot between two defensemen from the high slot.

Point completed the hat trick with a power-play goal at 18:08 for the 8-2 final.

“We didn’t really give them anything," Cooper said. "Eventually, I knew we were going to get our looks, and our special teams were outstanding. That was the game.”

NOTES: Kucherov’s six points are tied for the most in Lightning history. Doug Crossman had three goals and three assists in a 6-5 win against the New York Islanders on Nov. 7, 1992. … Kucherov had three points in both the second and third period. He has 17 three-point periods in his career, passing Martin St. Louis for the most in Tampa Bay history. ... Stamkos has scored in four straight games and has eight points (four goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak.