The Lightning grab fourth straight win, as the race for a playoff spot heats up.

Defense is key and the Tampa Bay Lightning played a consistent game defensively on Tuesday night, holding the defending Stanley Cup champs to three goals and pushing themselves across the finish line for their fourth straight win.

The start to the first period wasn’t ideal when the Golden Knights opened the scoring a little over one minute in. Jonathan Marchessault buried a cross-ice feed to put Vegas up 1-0.

Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel responded immediately, scoring a shorthanded goal to tie the game up 1-1. Two of the Lightning’s goals came on special teams, one short-handed and the other with the man advantage.

The Lightning grabbed the lead midway through the first period, when Anthony Duclair took a pass from Kucherov, marking his third goal in four games since joining the Lightning at the trade deadline.

“I'm ecstatic we have these guys,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of newly acquired players Anthony Duclair and defenseman Matt Dumba. “They've added to our depth and given us a little moxie. He's deserved those points. He's played well for us."

Duclair has at least one point in all four games since Tampa Bay acquired him from San Jose.

Overall the Bolts looked a lot cleaner than they have in past games, especially in clearing their own zone. They held Vegas to just seven shots on goal and only 13 total attempts in the first period.

Brayden Point scored two goals in the third period to lead the Lightning to the finish line. He’s had eight points against Vegas over the past three meetings. 

With a goal and three assists, Nikita Kucherov moved back into the NHL points lead.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos had two assists, giving him a six-game point streak. The Lightning will turn the page quickly to face San Jose on Thursday night.