On Wednesday night, Victor Hedman netted two goals to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken.
Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli also found the back of the net for the Lightning, who capped off their six-game road trip— the longest of their season— with a second consecutive win.
Steven Stamkos recorded three assists in his 900th NHL game.
“That was nice to do,” Stamkos said. “I’m just proud I’ve been part of this organization for all 900 of those, and hopefully more to come.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves, securing his league-leading 32nd win.
Yanni Gourde scored his 14th goal for the Kraken, who have lost five of their last six and 12 of their last 14 games. Gourde, who previously played six seasons for Tampa Bay before being selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, now leads the Kraken with 36 points.
Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves for Seattle.
Gourde gave the Kraken an early 1-0 lead with a power-play goal from the right circle just 2 1/2 minutes into the game. This marked the fifth consecutive game where Gourde registered a point, his longest season streak.
The Lightning tied the game with 13:34 left in the first period. On a 2-on-1 rush, Stamkos’ pass set up Kucherov to hammer home the goal.
Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal from Hedman with about 11 minutes left in the second period. Stamkos assisted, flipping the puck back to Hedman near the blue line for a one-timer.
“He’s been boiling shooting the puck lately,” Stamkos said. “That’s huge.”
The Lightning extended their lead 23 seconds into the third period. Brayden Point broke free for a breakaway that was stopped by Grubauer. However, Grubauer slid far out of the crease, leaving the net open. After a scramble in front, Cirelli pushed the puck in.
“That was a great opening shift. We talked about not sitting back in the third and trying to command the puck,” Stamkos said. “Couldn’t have drawn it up any better. Pointer just absolutely flying up the ice, creating that chance.”
Seattle coach Dave Hakstol acknowledged that Cirelli’s goal was the turning point.
“Mass chaos in our crease. That’s the one that put some separation there for them,” Hakstol said. “We didn’t really regain a push after that.”
Hedman capped the scoring with a power-play goal with 5 1/2 minutes left, his sixth goal in the past six games.
“The main thing is getting points; that’s how you get to the playoffs,” Cirelli said. “I thought we did a great job battling these last two games and coming away with two big wins to end the trip.”
Game Notes
Seattle traded forward Calle Jarnkrok to Calgary for three draft picks. Jarnkrok has 26 points in 49 games this season. This move is expected to be just the beginning for the Kraken, as captain Mark Giordano and forwards Marcus Johansson and Riley Sheahan could also be traded before Monday’s deadline. The Kraken honored Giordano before the game, recognizing him for playing in 1,000 NHL games. It was the first home game since Giordano reached the milestone on March 5 at Washington, but he was held out of the lineup to prevent injury. Stamkos became the third player in Tampa Bay history to reach 900 games played. He trails only Vincent Lecavalier (1,037 games) and Martin St. Louis (972).
UP NEXT
- Tampa Bay: Hosts the New York Rangers on Saturday.
- Seattle: Faces the Detroit Red Wings at home on Saturday.
