NHL: Nikita Kucherov (3 G, 2 A) steers Lightning past Kraken

Nikita Kucherov scored three goals and added two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning routed the host Seattle Kraken 6-2 on Tuesday. Brandon Hagel had a goal and three assists, Anthony Cirelli posted a goal and two assists, and Gage Goncalves added a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay in the opener of a four-game trip. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 16 saves as the Lightning earned just their second win in five games.

Bobby McMann and Jared McCann scored for Seattle, which saw a two-game winning streak end. Philipp Grubauer stopped 19 of 24 shots.

In Minnesota, Mats Zuccarello scored at 3:09 of overtime and Marcus Johansson had a goal and two assists as the Wild defeated Chicago 4-3, ending a three-game losing streak. Brock Faber recorded three assists for Minnesota, which improved to 3-0-0 against the Blackhawks this season. Chicago’s Frank Nazar forced overtime with a goal at 18:20 of the third period. Nazar and Louis Crevier each tallied a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, and Ryan Greene also scored.

The Buffalo Sabres shut out the Vegas Golden Knights 2-0 behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s 28-save performance, his first shutout of the season. Josh Doan and Josh Norris scored for Buffalo, which improved to 18-2-1 in their past 21 road games. Vegas goalie Adin Hill stopped 23 of 24 shots as the Golden Knights’ two-game winning streak ended.

Columbus continued its surge with a 5-1 victory over Carolina. Charlie Coyle scored a goal and had three assists, while Mason Marchment, Danton Heinen, Denton Mateychuk, and Mathieu Olivier also scored for the Blue Jackets. Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger each had two assists, and Jet Greaves made 27 saves. Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes, with Brandon Bussi turning aside 25 shots.

The New York Islanders defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1. Calum Ritchie scored a goal and added an assist, with Brayden Schenn and Emil Heineman also scoring. Mathew Barzal posted three assists, and Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves. Steven Lorentz scored for Toronto, and Joseph Woll stopped 31 shots.

In a shootout, Ryan O’Reilly scored the lone goal as Nashville beat Winnipeg 4-3. Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, while Erik Haula and Matthew Wood also scored for the Predators. Juuse Saros made 36 saves. Jonathan Toews tied the game for the Jets with 1:01 left in regulation. Gabriel Vilardi, Josh Morrissey, and Kyle Connor also contributed, with Connor adding three assists.

Montreal edged Boston 3-2 in overtime as Cole Caufield scored with 22 seconds left. Caufield, who reached 40 goals this season, and Nick Suzuki each had a goal and an assist. Josh Anderson also scored, and Jakub Dobes made 26 saves. Pavel Zacha scored both Boston goals, while Jeremy Swayman stopped 28 shots.

Vancouver defeated Florida 5-2 as Marco Rossi scored a goal and added two assists. Elias Pettersson scored twice, Brock Boeser had three assists, and Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves. Additional goals came from Aatu Raty and Drew O’Connor. Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk registered a goal and an assist, Sam Bennett scored, Carter Verhaeghe added two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves.

Edmonton rallied to beat San Jose 5-3, with Max Jones and Zach Hyman scoring 3:23 apart early in the third period. Adam Henrique had two assists, while Connor Murphy, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Vasily Podkolzin also scored. Connor Ingram made 27 saves. San Jose’s Kiefer Sherwood and Dmitry Orlov each had a goal and an assist, Pavol Regenda also scored, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 32 shots.

—Field Level Media/Reuters