TAMPA, Fla. — Anthony Cirelli had the tiebreaking objective halfway via the third after failing to attain on a second-period penalty shot, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Thursday evening.
Cirelli made it 3-2 off a move from Brayden Level at 11:55, precisely 1 minute after Jack Hughes tied it for the Devils.
Alex Killorn and Mathieu Joseph had the opposite Lightning objectives, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves as Tampa Bay improved to 11-1-1 in its final 13 house video games.
“They did what they needed to do to win the sport,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper mentioned. “I believed we performed nicely sufficient to win this recreation.”
New Jersey received a objective and an help from Damon Severson. Jesper Bratt had two assists.
“They’re the perfect within the league till somebody knocks them off,” Hughes mentioned. “They know find out how to win. We’ll get to that time in the future. That’s a greater hockey group than us however we performed a very good recreation. Disappointing we didn’t get two factors.”
Tampa Bay performed with out proper wing Nikita Kucherov, who's in COVID-19 protocols. Cooper couldn’t say whether or not Kucherov will return earlier than subsequent week’s All-Star break.
New Jersey’s Jon Gillies, acquired from St. Louis final month, stopped 32 pictures in his seventh recreation this season and nineteenth of his profession.
The Devils, who've misplaced six of seven, are with out injured goalies Mackenzie Blackwood (left heel) and Jonathan Bernier (season-ending proper hip surgical procedure). Blackwood was positioned on injured reserve Tuesday.
Joseph put the Lightning up 2-1 on a short-handed rebound objective of his personal shot with 5:44 left within the second. It got here 26 seconds after Gillies made a pad save on Cirelli’s penalty shot as Tampa Bay outshot the Devils 6-2 whereas Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta served a 4-minute high-sticking penalty.
“At any time when you can kill off a 4-minute energy play and Jo will get one there too, it’s enormous and provides momentum entering into the suitable method,” Cirelli mentioned.
Killorn tied it at 1 on a power-play rebound objective early within the second.
Severson gave the Devils a power-play objective in six consecutive video games when he opened the scoring from the blue line 4:33 into the sport. Tampa Bay had its stretch of not permitting a power-play objective in seven straight video games at house finish.
New Jersey practically took a 2-0 lead halfway via the primary when Yegor Sharangovich’s shot went off Vasilevskiy glove and was swept away from objective line by Lightning ahead Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Gillies stopped all 18 pictures he confronted through the first. New Jersey had 12 pictures within the interval.
Vasilevskiy turned apart a right-circle shot from Hughes within the first minute of the third.
“I believed our puck motion was wonderful,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff mentioned. “Pace going up ice, skated rather well. There was lots to love inside the sport.”
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