Lightning Extend 20-1-1 Run with Win Over Toronto Maple Leafs

The Tampa Bay Lightning returned to Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday and secured their first win after the Olympic break, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2. They did it without head coach Jon Cooper, who will miss two games following the death of his father, Robert. Assistant Rob Zettler stepped behind the bench in Cooper’s absence.

“The best thing you can do for Coop is play your heart out, and I think the guys did that tonight,” Zettler said. “They worked hard, they gave it their best, there was a hell of an effort with him in the back of our minds the whole time. He’s the guy that puts this all together. He makes this all happen.”

Brayden Point made an immediate impact with two goals and an assist in his first game back after missing 11 with a lower-body injury sustained Jan. 12 against the Flyers — an injury that also kept him off Canada’s Olympic roster.

Gage Goncalves added a goal and two assists in the win.

“I felt really good, it was fun,” Point said. “Obviously, coming back and playing with (Kucherov) and (Goncalves), they played great and found me in some good spots.”

Nikita Kucherov hit another milestone, recording his 700th career assist in the second period of his 855th NHL game, becoming the second-fastest player born outside North America to reach the mark. He followed it up with his 30th goal of the season in the third, marking his ninth 30-goal campaign and tying Steven Stamkos for the most in franchise history.

“We've really gelled together as a team, and I think guys have really bought in their roles,” Point said of his teammates after the game. “I think for the most part of this season, definitely on our runs, we've been playing smart with the puck, not giving teams chances and just kind of waiting for ours.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves for the Lightning, who improved to 20-1-1 in their past 22 games. Vasilevskiy is now 17-0-1 since Dec. 20, continuing a dominant stretch in net.

The Lightning will immediately turn the page, completing their back-to-back in Carolina on Thursday.