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The Lightning wins with a 4-1 victory against the Hurricanes
Nikita Kucherov picked up where he left off last season with a hat trick and an assist in his first game of the campaign and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Friday night.
Kucherov, who amassed 144 points in 2023-2024, was complicit in Brayden Point’s goal in the second period which tied the game 1-1. Jordan Staal gave the Hurricanes the lead in the first period.
The 31-year-old Russian then made it 2-1 midway through the third period with a powerful one-timer on the power play.
Kucherov completed his hat trick with two empty-net goals.
New Lightning captain Victor Hedman also had a productive evening with three assists.
In his first game in a Florida uniform, Jake Guentzel collected two assists. The 30-year-old American signed a seven-year deal, worth US$63 million, with the Lightning during the summer season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of the 21 shots aimed at him while his opposite number Frederik Andersen made 19 saves.
The Canadian Press