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02/25 21:42 CST Kucherov hits 30 goals again as Lightning roll past Maple Leafs
4-2 for 6th straight win
Kucherov hits 30 goals again as Lightning roll past Maple Leafs 4-2 for 6th
straight win
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) --- Nikita Kucherov scored to give him his ninth 30-goal
season and added two assists for 701 in his career and the Tampa Bay Lightning
defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Wednesday night for their sixth
straight victory.
Brayden Point had two goals and an assist, Gage Goncalves had a goal and two
assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves for the Lightning, who are 20-1-1
in their past 22 games. Vasilevskiy is 17-0-1 since Dec. 20.
Tampa Bay won in its first game back from the Olympic break without coach Jon
Cooper on the bench. Cooper, who led Canada to the silver medal at the Milan
Cortina Games, will miss two games after the death of his father, Robert.
Assistant Rob Zettler stepped in for Cooper and the Lightning ended the Maple
Leafs' three-game winning streak.
The Russian-born Kucherov got his 700th assist in his 855th NHL game, becoming
the second-fastest player born outside of North America to reach the mark and
trailing only Peter Stastny (784 games). The milestone assist came on
Goncalves' goal at 7:58 of the second period that gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead.
Kucherov's 30th goal came at 2:59 of the third and made it 3-0. His nine
30-goal seasons tie him with Steven Stamkos for the most in team history.
John Tavares and Matthew Knies scored and Anthony Stolarz made 32 saves for the
Maple Leafs, whose five-game winning streak against the Lightning was stopped.
With Stolarz pulled to give Toronto an extra skater, Tavares scored with 3:41
remaining to end the shutout bid for Vasilevskiy. It came moments after Jake
Guentzel missed an empty-net goal for the Lightning when his shot hit the post.
After Point made it 4-1, Knies capped the scoring with 2:47 left for Toronto.
Auston Matthews had an assist on the goal, tying Tim Horton for 10th on the
career franchise list with 349.
Up next Maple Leafs: Play at Florida on Thursday night. Lighting: Play at Carolina on Thursday night. --- AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Up next Maple Leafs: Play at Florida on Thursday night. Lighting: Play at Carolina on Thursday night. --- AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
