Kucherov helps Lightning, Bishop blank Kings
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning won back-to-back games for the first time since before Christmas, getting two goals from Nikita Kucherov and superb goaltending from Ben Bishop in 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.
Bishop, who earned his first shutout of the season, had 19 saves in the first period, then a much easier night as the defense stepped up in front of him with three saves in the second and six in the third.
It was only the Lightning's third shutout this season and first since November with Andrei Vasilevskiy recording the first 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 Anaheim in a shootout Saturday, hadn't won back-to-back games since Dec. 20-22.
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 Ben Bishop and a goal by Drouin -- his 16th of the season -- with 12:14 left in the first.
Tampa Bay stepped up on both ends of the ice in the second, holding Los Angeles to three shots and scoring three goals. Kucherov scored with 13:05 left in the second, getting a breakaway after a long outlet pass from Vladislav Namestnikov for a 2-0 lead. 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 got 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.
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.
NOTES: Lightning C Alex Killorn was scratched with a late injury, missing his first game of the season. ... LW Ondrej Palat missed a second straight contest with a lower-body injury, and LW Michael Bournival missed a fifth straight game with his upper-body injury. ... Lightning D Anton Stralman played his 200th career game with Tampa Bay. ... Los Angeles had two healthy scratches in RW Devin Setoguchi and D Kevin Gravel.