TAMPA, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov’s wait to return to the ice was nearly three months long, and he couldn’t wait to find the back of the net in his first game back Thursday against the Calgary Flames.
His shots sailed high and wide. One hit the post. He skated back to the Lightning bench after his shifts frustrated. He dissected passes through Flames defenders but still seemed a tad off.
But the Lightning were certainly a different team with Kucherov against one of the league’s top defensive squads, and it seemed only a matter of time before he would get some satisfaction.
Kucherov had Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar guessing all night, and Vladar was superb for two periods until Kucherov got the best of him and opened the floodgates in a 4-1 win.
Kucherov’s on-ice poker play in the third period made Vladar gamble. He had rocketed several one-timers from the right circle, and when Ryan McDonagh’s pass met his stick, Kucherov reared up for another, drawing Vladar to the near post.
But Kucherov slowed down the game down like few, can and instead of rifling a shot on net, he tapped a cross-crease pass to Brayden Point, who had a wide-open net gift-wrapped for him. Point’s goal gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the third period, the first of three straight Tampa Bay goals.
Kucherov added a second primary assist just over seven minutes later, taking the puck behind the net, then doubling back to free himself from Calgary defenseman Nikita Zadorov before finding Ondrej Palat in front of the net. Palat beat Vladar stickside to put the Lightning up 3-0.
Just 14 seconds after that, Alex Killorn, who hit the post earlier in the game, scored on a feed from Steven Stamkos on the rush.
The Flames entered the game second in the league in goals-against average (2.35 a game), and Vladar stopped 26 of 27 shots through two periods before the Lightning opened up the game in the third.
Corey Perry’s second-period goal — his 10th of the season, all coming in the last 19 games — gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
Perry’s goal was created when Victor Hedman started the rush with a pass to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare at the blue line. Coming across the left circle, Bellemare faked a shot, bringing Vladar to the near post. Bellemare then passed across the slot to Perry, who lifted a shot over Vladar’s glove.
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves, holding the Flames scoreless until Dillon Dube’s goal with just over four minutes remaining for his league-best 19th win. He improved his home record to 10-3-2.
