Point scores 2, Lightning snap skid with shutout of 'Canes
Tampa Bay Lightning's Victor Hedman (77) controls the puck in front of Carolina Hurricanes' Brady Skjei (76) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Credit: AP/Karl B DeBlaker
RALEIGH, N.C. — Brayden Point had two goals and an assist and the Tampa Bay Lightning snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves, including 12 in the third period, for his third shutout of the season.
Steven Stamkos added a goal and an assist as the Lightning wrapped up a four-game road stretch with a much-needed result to stay in good position to reach the playoffs. Alex Killorn scored an empty-net goal with 4:21 remaining.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves as the Hurricanes lost for the third time in four games (1-2-1). Carolina was blanked for the third time in a 10-game stretch.
Stamkos scored 5:58 into the second period. He hung out near the net and was on the receiving end of Mikhail Sergachev’s pass, sliding the puck under Kochetkov’s pads for his 31st goal this season.
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kocherov also was credited with an assist on the game’s first goal, giving him 75 this season. He added another on Point’s second goal.
Point’s first goal of the game came after he collected a rebound, knocking the puck off Kochetkov on a shot from behind the goal line at 14:23 of the second period. He pushed his goals total for the season to 47 with another score at 12:20 of the third period.
Tampa Bay Lightning's Tanner (84) shoots at Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Credit: AP/Karl B DeBlaker
It was a quite a reversal from the Lightning’s March 5 visit, when the Hurricanes rolled to a 6-0 rout.
NOTES: Lightning D Ian Cole was a healthy scratch, missing a game for the first time since Oct. 15. D Haydn Fluery, a former member of the Hurricanes, was in the Tampa Bay lineup for the first time in 10 games. … Hurricanes RW Stefan Noesen didn’t return after sustaining a lower-body injury in the second period.
UP NEXT
Lightning: Host Washington on Thursday.
Tampa Bay Lightning's Nick Perbix (48) passes the puck pat Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Staal (11) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Credit: AP/Karl B DeBlaker
Hurricanes: At Detroit on Thursday.
