TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning secured a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues Thursday night, propelled by Nikita Kucherov’s two assists.
Anthony Cirelli, Gage Goncalves, and Nick Perbix each found the back of the net for the Lightning, who have claimed victory in six out of their last seven games. In goal, Andrei Vasilevskiy put forth an impressive performance, making 31 saves to help secure the win.
For the Blues, Pavel Buchnevich managed to score a goal. Jordan Binnington had a rough outing, allowing three goals on just 11 shots before being replaced by Joel Hofer, who successfully blocked all seven shots directed his way.
The scoring started with Cirelli netting his 13th goal of the season at 5:14 in the first period. Perbix then doubled the lead for Tampa Bay early in the second period, scoring just 3:42 into the frame. Although Buchnevich answered back with a goal to reduce the gap to 2-1 with 7:45 remaining in the second, Goncalves quickly restored the two-goal advantage with his first career NHL goal just 1:18 later.
Takeaways from the game include the fact that the Blues faced back-to-back regulation losses for the first time since Jim Montgomery took over as their head coach on November 25. Additionally, Lightning winger Jake Guentzel saw his impressive seven-game goal streak come to an end.
A key moment in the game occurred shortly after Buchnevich scored, as Goncalves—a rookie—quickly capitalized on an opportunity to score and regain the two-goal cushion for Tampa Bay, solidifying the lead.
On the statistical front, Kucherov’s performance included 13 assists in the course of a six-game scoring streak, underscoring his role in the team’s offensive efforts.
Looking ahead, the Blues will travel south to compete against the Florida Panthers on Friday, while the Lightning will host the Panthers on Sunday.
