Vasilevskiy Shines in Season Debut with 22 Saves as Lightning Cruise Past Hurricanes

At 1:34 of the second period, Steven Stamkos scored a power-play goal to tie the game 1-1. He fired a one-timer from the left face-off dot after receiving a backhand pass from Point.

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

Brind’Amour commented on Kucherov’s performance, saying, “It’s one guy, clearly. 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.”

Shortly after, Carolina received a penalty, and Point seized the opportunity to score into an open net from the left post, extending the Lightning’s lead to 3-1.

Point discussed their success, saying, “I think we were just capitalizing on our looks. 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.”

At 14:45, Michael Bunting scored a power-play goal for Carolina, cutting the lead to 3-2 with a slap shot from the high slot after a face-off win by Andrei Svechnikov.

Responding to Carolina’s goal, Hagel made it 4-2 at 5:33 in the third period, scoring short side off a cross-ice pass from Point.

Reflecting on their performance, Point noted, “The game just gets a little slower and you start making crisp plays. 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.”