Kucherov scores twice, Lightning top Canucks to end 3-game skid

TAMPA -- Nikita Kucherov scored twice for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who ended a three-game skid with a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Nicholas Paul had a goal and an assist, and Michael Eyssimont scored for the Lightning (2-2-1). Steven Stamkos had an assist in his return after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury. Jonas Johansson made 26 saves.

"This is probably the longest we're at home, I think we're home for two weeks," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "I'm not sure how many games we're playing, but we've got to start getting points here before we go back on the road."

J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, and Brock Boeser and Tyler Myers scored for the Canucks (2-2-0), who have lost two straight. Elias Pettersson had two assists, and Thatcher Demko made 32 saves.

"Loved the battle, hats off to the guys because they competed," Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. "We've just got to clean up the crucial mistakes. ... For the overall team effort, the guys played hard until the end."

Paul gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 11:10 of the first period with a power-play goal when he stuffed in a rebound off a shot from Stamkos.

"There's some good players out there making some good plays," Paul said. "Right now [the power play] seems to be clicking. We just have to stay consistent."

Boeser tied it 14 seconds into the second period 1-1 with a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Miller, and Myers put the Canucks ahead 2-1 at 1:02 with a slap shot from the high slot.

“I thought we played a much better game than our last game," Boeser said. "We were pretty good until we let a few in late in the second there. Small letdowns you can't have. ... Little details we've got to clean up."

Eyssimont tied it 2-2 at 15:43 when he beat Demko with a shot to the glove side.

"We've been messing around with different line combinations, and nothing has really stuck," Eyssimont said. "To find some offense with some guys is good. We were strong in our zone and good defense leads to good offense."

Kucherov gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead at 16:52 with a shot above the right circle that beat Demko over the shoulder. He made it 4-2 at 4:42 of the third period with a power-play goal.

"We had to turn the page on what had happened [at the start of the period] and Essiymont's goal was a big one for us," Cooper said. "You could see we were coming and after that ‘Kuch’ was huge for us."

Miller cut it to 4-3 at 18:11 after scoring on a rebound of Filip Hronek’s one-timer.

The Canucks pulled Demko for an extra attacker and had a chance to tie the game, but Johansson made a save on Boeser with 44.2 seconds remaining.

"You've got to fall back on your base," Myers said. "Getting pucks deep and playing at a speed where it's hard for them to break the puck out. Those are simple things. We were doing those things and we had a couple of breakdowns in our neutral zone."

NOTES: Pettersson has seven assists through four games. ... Stamkos has 191 power-play assists, tied with Kucherov for third-most in franchise history behind Victor Hedman (201) and Martin St. Louis (204). .. Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix had six blocked shots and his first assist since March 4 against the Buffalo Sabres (22 games). ... Hronek had an assist and a game-high seven shots on goal.