Nikita Kucherov Scores Twice, Closes In on Stamkos Record

Nikita Kucherov looked at a 2-0 hole on Saturday night and scored twice in five minutes to climb out of it. His pair of second-period goals sparked the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-2 comeback win over the Vancouver Canucks at Benchmark International Arena, and it was his first multi-goal game of the season.

The first one came on the power play at 6:30 of the second. Brandon Hagel fed him on the right side, Kevin Lankinen got a glove on the first shot, and Kucherov buried the rebound. At 11:23, Brayden Point won a faceoff atop the left circle, and Kucherov snapped it inside the right post to tie it 2-2.

Kucherov is closing in on Stamkos

This is the part Lightning fans should be watching. Per NHL.com, the two goals give Kucherov 1,134 career points, tying Marian Hossa for 65th in NHL history. The Lightning's team site has him three points away from tying Steven Stamkos (1,137) for the most in franchise history.

At his pace, that could come fast. He led the team with seven shots on goal and has 15 over his last two games.

"He really has that shooter's mentality going on right now and I love it," coach Jon Cooper said. "That's how pucks go in the net, especially for guys like him."

Kucherov gave the credit for the tying goal to his center. "I think Pointer's been great this season," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in him, and if he's in the dot I have a lot of confidence that he's going to win."

Fantasy note: 15 shots in two games is the kind of volume that turns into points in bunches, so if Kucherov is on your bench, that is a mistake.

How the Lightning flipped it

Vancouver scored first on a Linus Karlsson slap shot late in the first, and Elias Pettersson made it 2-0 on the power play early in the second. Tampa Bay never stopped shooting. The Lightning finished with a 35-14 edge in shots on goal and won 62 percent of the draws, two nights after Cooper called out the team's faceoff work.

After Kucherov tied it, Jake Guentzel gave Tampa Bay its first lead 2:04 into the third when his shot off a Charle-Edouard D'Astous pass deflected off Liam Ohgren's stick and in. Pontus Holmberg sealed it at 15:57. Guentzel finished with a goal and an assist, Point had two assists, and Dennis Hildeby made 12 saves.

The Lightning are now 6-2-0 and a perfect 5-0-0 at home. The Canucks are 2-7-1 and have lost seven straight, including all six games on this road trip.

Up next for Tampa Bay

The Lightning start a three-game road trip Tuesday in Vegas, with a 10:30 p.m. ET puck drop. Kucherov needs three points to catch Stamkos, and a late night in the desert would be a fun place to do it.