NHL’s top point scorer Nikita Kucherov found the net for his 43rd goal of the season and assisted twice, while Steven Stamkos and Nicholas Paul each netted two goals as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 7-4 on Thursday night.
Sitting in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning have been on a strong run lately, winning 10 of their last 12 games and holding a record of 43-26-7.
“This was a good performance, especially considering it was a back-to-back situation,” Stamkos said, referring to their 4-1 victory in Toronto the previous night. “Apart from a slight dip in the third period, we were in control of the game.”
Matt Tomkins, a 29-year-old goalie making just his fourth NHL start and his first since Nov. 7, made 26 saves to secure the win. He now boasts a 2-2-0 record, with both of his wins coming against the Canadiens in Montreal.
“He seems to enjoy playing in this arena,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper noted. “When we lost Vasilevskiy for 25 games earlier in the season, some expected us to acquire another goalie, but we had confidence in Tommy and Jonas Johansson.”
Tampa Bay’s Michael Eyssimont and Brandon Hagel also found the back of the net.
On the Canadiens’ side, Joel Armia scored twice, and Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield added goals, with Cayden Primeau making 28 saves in goal. The Canadiens faced challenges as defenseman Kaiden Guhle left the game early in the first period due to an upper-body injury following a heavy check from Kucherov.
There was no penalty called on the play. Later in the game, Hagel exited after a collision with teammate Stamkos.
Stamkos broke the 2-2 deadlock with his first goal of the night at 7:58 of the second period, followed by Paul’s second goal of the game just over a minute later. Stamkos now has 34 goals for the season.
