The Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Benchmark International Arena. Nikita Kucherov scored twice to spark the comeback and record his first multi-goal game of the season. The victory improved Tampa Bay to 6-2-0 and kept the team unbeaten at home at 5-0-0.
Vancouver took the lead when Linus Karlsson scored from the right circle with 4:28 remaining in the first period. Elias Pettersson then extended the Canucks’ advantage with a power-play goal. The Lightning created 27 shot attempts in the opening period, but Kevin Lankinen made 11 saves to preserve Vancouver’s lead.
Lankinen denied Jake Guentzel at the right post after Gage Goncalves created the chance. He also made a sliding stop on Victor Hedman from distance. Tampa Bay eventually broke through on its lone power-play opportunity in the second period.
Brandon Hagel sent the puck from the top of the left faceoff circle toward Kucherov, whose first shot was stopped before he scored on the rebound. Kucherov tied the game five minutes later after Brayden Point won a faceoff and fed him at the top of the left circle. Kucherov snapped the puck inside the right post to make it 2-2.
“It was good,” Kucherov said of Tampa Bay’s response to the deficit. “We stuck to the system and when you’re putting pucks to the net, good things happen.” Charle-Edouard D’Astous played on the Lightning’s top power-play unit. Jon Cooper said Tampa Bay’s power-play statistics have not reflected the chances the team has created.
“The statistics will sit here and say we’re sitting at the bottom of the league on the power play, but I do believe we’ve been a little unfortunate,” Cooper said. “I think we’ve missed some chances that would have been no-brainer goals for us, so the statistic’s probably a little skewed. It was time to try some new things, and I thought we didn’t get many chances, but I thought they made the best of it.” The Lightning also won 62% of its faceoffs.
Tampa Bay took its first lead two minutes into the third period when Jake Guentzel one-timed a pass from D’Astous at the blue line. The puck deflected off a Vancouver forward and entered the top right corner of the net. Pontus Holmberg added the final goal with four minutes remaining after winning a puck battle on an offensive-zone draw and firing a shot through Lankinen.
The Lightning finished with a 35-14 advantage in shots on goal and a 73-51 edge in shot attempts. Kucherov led Tampa Bay with seven shots on goal and has 15 over his last two games. His performance moved him within three points of Steven Stamkos’ franchise scoring total of 1,137 points.
“He’s really got that shooter’s mentality going on right now, and I love it,” Cooper said of Kucherov. “That’s how pucks go in the net, especially for guys like him. I was a little bummed that the one from center ice didn’t go in, it would have been pretty cool to see the hats come down. But I like the shooting mentality he’s got going on right now. It’s great.” Kucherov also credited Point for the faceoff play that produced the tying goal.
“I think Pointer’s been great this season,” Kucherov said of the play. “I have a lot of confidence in him, and if he’s in the dot I have a lot of confidence that he’s going to win, and fortunate for me that that went in.” The Lightning will begin a three-game road trip against Vegas on Tuesday. The puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.
FSB Take
Tampa Bay responded to an early two-goal deficit with sustained pressure, a successful power-play opportunity and a strong faceoff performance. The Lightning’s advantages in shots on goal and shot attempts reflected the team’s offensive control after Vancouver’s early lead. Kucherov’s two-goal night and Tampa Bay’s 6-2-0 start give the team momentum as it leaves Benchmark International Arena for a three-game road trip.
Source: Original report