Point’s Late Goal Lifts Lightning Past Hurricanes; Ends 4-Game Losing Streak

Brayden Point scored with less than a minute left in the game to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes and ended the Lightning’s four-game losing streak.

Point’s game-winning goal moved him within one of reaching his 600th point with the Lightning, which would make him the third-fastest Lightning player to hit the mark behind Nikita Kucherov (557 GP) and Steven Stamkos (595 GP). 

BRAYDEN POINT GAME-WINNER WITH LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/NDOMnsyatc

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 8, 2025

The game was the make-up of the postponed Oct. 12 game due to damages the Tampa area suffered after being hit by two hurricanes.

Brent Burns tied Steve Larmer for the sixth-longest consecutive games played streak in NHL history tonight, suiting up for game No. 894 in a row. Burns’ run is the longest active iron man streak in the NHL, with nearly 400 more games than Ryan Suter in second place.

The Lightning opened the scoring in the first period when Brandon Hagel wristed a shot past Hurricanes goaltender Pytor Kochetkov.

The Hurricanes tied the game in the second period when Andrei Svechnikov took a faceoff and flipped a fluttering backhander past Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Lightning answered back a couple of minutes later on the power play when Nick Paul slammed home a rebound. The Hurricanes came into the game tied for best in the NHL when down a man.

Carolina tied the game midway through the third period when Jordan Staal redirected a Burns shot into the net.

Darren Raddysh (133 GP) recorded two assists to boost his career totals to 8 goals, 42 assists, and 50 points to become the fastest defenseman in Lightning franchise history to reach 50 NHL points.