Kucherov Return Results in 4-1 Win Over Flames

On Thursday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1. In his return, Nikita Kucherov recorded two assists to boost Tampa Bay’s record to 23-8-5. On the other hand, Calgary fell to a 17-9-6 record.

Game Recap

The first period saw a fight, penalties, and a tribute video. Blake Coleman, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, made his return to Amalie Arena in this game. He was given a round of applause and a thank you video from the team and fans. Soon after, Mathieu Joseph fought Noah Hanifin, with Joseph also receiving a minor for roughing, giving Calgary a power play. Calgary was unsuccessful with the man advantage, and gave Tampa Bay one before the end of the period. Tampa Bay, too, were unsuccessful. The first frame ended tied at zero.

The first goal of the game arrived twelve minutes into the second period. Corey Perry tallied his tenth goal of the season to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Brad Richardson was ejected from the game for a hit to the head on Tampa’s Mathieu Joseph. Boris Katchouk answered the bell and fought Richardson. The middle frame ended in a 1-0 lead for the Bolts, and the shots favoring them too 27-13.

Brayden Point opened the final period with a goal nearly three minutes in. Kucherov had the game-winning assist on this goal and his first point since his injury. Although the Lightning scored, Taylor Raddysh took a penalty shortly after, giving Calgary a power play. The Flames could not score though. Instead, after killing the penalty, Ondrej Palat scored Tampa Bay’s third. Fourteen seconds later, the Lightning struck again, this time Alex Killorn was the goal scorer. Following the goal, a handful of penalties were handed out to both teams for roughing. Later, Dillon Dube scored Calgary’s lone goal to make the game 4-1. Five seconds later, Gudbranson dropped the gloves with Maroon.

Throughout the penalties, Vasilevskiy stopped 26 of 27 shots and guided the Lightning to a 4-1 win.

Up Next

On Saturday, Tampa Bay will wrap up their two-game homestead against the Boston Bruins. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST at Amalie Arena.

(Featured image by Chris O’Meara/AP Photo)