Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point netted a dazzling game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation as the Lightning snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.
Off a fine feed from Nikita Kucherov, Point caught the puck slashing through the slot, spun against his forehand and scored his team-leading 24th goal with 52 seconds left.
Brandon Hagel hit the net and Nick Paul reached double figures in goals with his first power-play tally of the season. Darren Raddysh recorded two assists as the Lightning recorded their second win over Carolina to win the season series.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves to break a personal two-game losing streak and won for the fourth time in the past six starts (4-1-1) versus the Hurricanes.
The Lightning went 1-for-3 on the power play and denied the visitors on their lone man advantage.
In its first contest of a two-game homestand, Tampa Bay recorded its first win in 2025 and moved to 8-1-2 against Metropolitan Division competition.
Carolina’s Jordan Staal notched a goal and an assist and Andrei Svechnikov scored as the team fell to 2-2-1 in its past five matches. Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov had 31 saves.
In his 21st season, Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns posted an assist in his 884th consecutive match, climbing into a tie with Steve Larmer for sixth place on the NHL’s all-time Iron Man streak.
Originally slated to be the Lightning’s Oct. 12 home opener but postponed due to Hurricane Milton, the contest played fast from the start.
Hagel’s hard work out front in a fast-paced first period paid off at 16:38. He eventually found his own rebound off a soft backhander on goal by Raddysh for a 1-0 lead.
On a faceoff win by Staal in the second, Svechnikov sent his own backhanded flip toward the net, an equalizer that Vasilevskiy failed to glove at 6:31 of the second to tie it.
However, Tampa Bay took its second lead right as its third power play was about to end. Paul found a rebound that caromed off Sean Walker and easily potted it at 9:17 for a 2-1 advantage.
In the final frame, Burns helped level the match again by firing a shot that Staal angled in around traffic at 9:56.
–Field Level Media
