Nikita Kucherov scored his second game goal 3:12 into overtime, securing a 4-3 victory for the Tampa Bay Lightning over the struggling Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
Anthony Cirelli contributed a goal and an assist, and Nicholas Paul also scored for the Lightning, who have won three of their last four games after enduring a four-game losing streak. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves.
Kucherov’s game-winning goal came after the Lightning successfully killed off a penalty in overtime. He received a backhanded pass from Brandon Hagel and fired it past Joey Daccord for his NHL-leading 19th goal of the season. The 2018-19 Hart Trophy winner also had an assist, bringing his season total to 47 points.
“Even the year he was the MVP, he’s better this year,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “He’s just a heck of a player.”
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jamie Oleksiak, and Jared McCann scored for Seattle, while Jordan Eberle provided two assists. Philipp Grubauer stopped 21 of 23 shots before leaving after two periods due to a lower-body injury. Joey Daccord made five saves in relief.
Seattle’s losing streak now stands at seven games, the second-longest in the franchise’s three-year history, trailing only a nine-game skid from December 2021 to January 2022.
“There are all kinds of things that are not going our way, but through all that, there was nothing but push from our guys,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Our guys continued to fight through it. We’ll keep fighting, and we’ll get through this.”
Cirelli opened the scoring 9:28 into the first period by redirecting a shot from Nick Perbix for his seventh goal of the season. Cirelli has four goals in his past four games after scoring three in his first 24.
Kucherov doubled Tampa Bay’s lead with 44 seconds left in the opening period, tapping in a pass from Brayden Point.
Bjorkstrand put Seattle on the board midway through the second period with his eighth goal of the season. Oleksiak tied the game just 2:31 later with his second of the season.
McCann gave Seattle a 3-2 lead with his 13th goal, a slap shot just 14 seconds into the third period. It was the Kraken’s first lead since their 7-1 win over San Jose on November 22.
“I don’t feel like we should’ve been in the position we were in to have to come from behind,” Cooper said. “But I’ve got to give the guys credit. … In the end, it came down to a massive penalty kill for us in overtime and then the big boys made some plays. I just love the character of the guys and how we played this one out.”
Paul tied the game at 3-3 at the 7:09 mark, finishing off a pass from Cirelli for his ninth goal of the season.
“We pulled together as a team and everyone did their part to get that win,” Paul said.
Seattle had a goal disallowed early in the second period after a successful offsides challenge by the Lightning.
The Kraken had to adjust their lineup again on Thursday night after losing left wing Andre Burakovsky to another injury. Burakovsky, who had just returned against New Jersey after missing six weeks, lasted only two periods before suffering an upper-body injury that has him listed as week-to-week.
Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz also exited the game with an upper-body injury.
Tampa Bay was without center Steven Stamkos, who missed the game due to illness.
Upcoming Games
- Lightning: At Vancouver on Tuesday night.
- Kraken: Host Minnesota on Sunday night.
