Kucherov, Cirelli lead the Lightning past the NHL-worst Canucks, 6-2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli each had a goal and two assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the NHL-worst Vancouver Canucks 6-2 on Thursday night.

Kucherov moved into sole possession of second place in the NHL scoring race with 114 points, one behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid. Tampa Bay is second in the Atlantic Division, four points behind Buffalo.

Jake Guentzel, Darren Raddysh, Yanni Gourde and Brandon Hagel also scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for his NHL-leading 32nd victory.

Liam Ohgren and Linus Karlsson scored for Vancouver, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 24 shots.

Guentzel opened the scoring late in the first period to become the third Lightning player to reach 30 goals this season, after Kucherov and Hagel.

After establishing position at the net front, Guentzel tipped a shot from the top of the zone by Charle-Edouard D’Astous over the glove of the screened Lankinen.

Less than a minute into the second, Raddysh made it 2-0 with a big one-timer. Gourde followed with a tip of Raddysh’s shot at 4:16, and Kucherov deflected the puck off the leg off a Canucks defenseman and into the net for his 38th of the season at 5:31.

Ohgren scored for Vancouver with 7:54 remaining in the second, putting in a low shot,

In the third, Karlsson batted the puck over Valisevskiy. Twenty-two seconds later, Cirelli restored the Lightning’s three-goal edge, then Hagel capped the scoring with his 32nd.

Up next

Lightning: At Edmonton on Saturday night.

Canucks: Host St. Louis on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl