Steven Stamkos scored four goals and Andrei Vasilevskiy made a season-high 53 saves as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning snapped Edmonton’s eight-game winning streak with a 7-4 victory on Thursday night.
It was the first four-goal game of Stamkos’ career and included his 200th career power-play goal. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists, Conor Sheary added two assists and Tyler Motte and Anthony Cirelli also scored for Tampa Bay.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and two assists, Darnell Nurse scored a short-handed goal and Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each scored power-play goals for Edmonton. Stuart Skinner finished with 17 saves.
Tampa Bay jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 7:17 of the game. Stamkos made it 1-0 just 67 seconds into the contest when he one-timed Nicholas Paul’s setup from the left circle. Motte then made it 2-0 when he roofed a backhanded rebound.
Edmonton recovered to take a 3-2 lead in the second period, outshooting the Lightning 23-7 in the process.
Nurse cut it to 2-1 at the 1:23 mark with a short-handed goal, driving down the slot on an odd-man rush and then firing a wrist shot into the top left corner.
McDavid tied it a little less than six minutes later with a power-play goal, slapping a loose puck in the slot past Vasilevskiy’s blocker side. It was his 11th goal of the season and extended his point streak to 11 games.
Hyman gave Edmonton its first lead midway through the period when he deflected Evan Bouchard’s shot from the right point for his team-leading 17th goal.
Stamkos tied it 3-3 early in the third period when he batted a mid-air rebound of Haydn Fleury’s shot inside the near post.
Kucherov then put Tampa Bay back ahead for good with 7:13 left when he rushed down the slot, slipped the puck through the skates of defender Cody Ceci and then powered a shot five-hole on Skinner.
Stamkos made it 5-3 a little over a minute later when he whipped a wrist shot from above the circles past Skinner.
The Oilers closed it to 5-4 when Nugent-Hopkins redirected Bouchard’s pass with 2:22 left.
Tampa Bay then sealed the win with a pair of empty-net goals by Cirelli and Stamkos, the final one with 6.1 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
