Kucherov helps Lightning, Bishop blank Kings

[February 08, 2017]  TAMPA, Fla. -- Ben Bishop posted his first shutout of the season and the Tampa Bay Lightning won back-to-back games for the first time since before Christmas with a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.

Tampa Bay (24-24-6) opened the night tied for last place in the Eastern Conference but picked up two points against the Kings (27-23-4), who took their second straight lopsided loss after winning five straight. Nikita Kucherov had two goals to lead the Lightning's scoring outburst.

Bishop made 19 of his 28 saves in the first period, then had a much easier go the rest of the way as the defense stepped up in front of him. He had three saves in the second period and six in the third.

"Obviously, it wasn't the best start we wanted, but those last two periods were really good hockey," Bishop said. "We played good defense, scored on our opportunities ... tonight was one of those games where we broke out."

It was only the Lightning's third shutout this season and first since November, when Andrei Vasilevskiy posted two.

Defenseman Braydon Coburn scored the final goal in the third period, flipping a rebound past goalie Peter Budaj off a long shot from Jonathan Drouin, who scored the game's first goal.

Tampa Bay's scoring was a surprise against a tough Kings defense as the Lightning had scored four or more goals once in the previous 10 games.

All five goals came at even strength, with Kucherov getting the first and last goals in a strong second period. The Lightning, who defeated the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout on Saturday, hadn't won back-to-back games since Dec. 20-22.

"Bish played extremely well in the first period when we needed him," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "We felt extremely fortunate to come to the room with the win and clearly Ben Bishop was a big part of that. Once that happened, we gave up nine shots the rest of the game. That's the team helping each other out."

Tampa Bay took over with a dominating second period, increasing a one-goal lead to 4-0. The Lightning escaped the first period with a 1-0 advantage, thanks to Bishop and a goal by Drouin -- his 16th of the season -- with 12:14 left in the first period.

Tampa Bay stepped up on both ends of the ice in the second period, holding Los Angeles to three shots and scoring three goals.

Kucherov scored with 13:05 left in the second period, getting a breakaway after a long outlet pass from Vladislav Namestnikov for a 2-0 lead.

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates after he scored a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Center Gabriel Dumont got his first goal with the Lightning and second of his career with 11:02 left in the period to make it 3-0.

Namestnikov produced another assist, feeding a crossing pass to Kucherov for his second goal of the period and team-leading 21st of the season with 1:42 left in the second period.

It was the second straight rough outing for the Kings' Peter Budaj, who gave up four goals in a 5-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday. He allowed three goals during a five-game win streak that preceded those two games. Budaj finished with 16 saves Tuesday.

"It's the second in a row that we've been scored on five times. You're not going to win many games if you give up five goals and we've got to clean that up," center Anze Kopitar said.

Kopitar said the recent goals allowed shouldn't be blamed on Budaj, saying the team's defense has given up too many odd-man rushes and set their goalie up in difficult situations.

"Those odd-man rushes, the breakaways, two-on-ones, in Washington there was a two-on-none. Nothing different on his part," Kopitar said. "We have to clean the game up."

NOTES: Lightning C Alex Killorn was scratched with a late injury, missing his first game of the season. Coach Jon Cooper said he hopes it is just a one-game absence for Killorn without elaborating on the injury. ... Tampa Bay LW Ondrej Palat missed a second straight contest with a lower-body injury, and LW Michael Bournival missed a fifth straight game.

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.