Lightning Bury Kings for Seventh Straight

LOS ANGELES — Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning kept steamrolling along, beating the Los Angeles Kings 6-2 on Thursday night for their seventh straight victory.

The NHL-leading Lightning have earned at least one point in 16 consecutive games — the longest streak in the league this season. They are 15-0-1 during the run.

Steven Stamkos added a goal and two assists, and Brayden Point had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for his sixth consecutive win.

Tampa Bay Lightning, forward, Brayden Point
Lightning forward Brayden Point (Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports)

Austin Wagner and Drew Doughty scored for the Kings, who have lost three of four. Jonathan Quick stopped 27 shots.

The Lightning jumped out in front 3-0 in the first period, with Kucherov getting his 400th NHL point by scoring during a 5-on-3 power play at 6:28.

Kucherov has eight goals and 19 assists during an 11-game point streak. He has scored in five straight games and has seven consecutive multipoint games.

Point made it 2-0 at 7:53 during the same two-man advantage, and Ryan Callahan scored on a breakaway at 14:05.

Ryan McDonagh pushed it to 4-0 just 25 seconds into the second period before Wagner scored at 7:55 for the Kings. Stamkos scored a power-play goal at 17:05.

Mathieu Joseph extended the lead to 6-1 at 10:04 of the third period as the Lightning scored at least six goals for the fourth time in five games.

Doughty scored on the power play at 17:36.

NOTES: Kings forward Dustin Brown played in his 1,077th career game, tying Luc Robitaille for second-most in Kings history. . Point has three goals and 10 assists during an eight-game point streak. . Lightning D Victor Hedman had an assist for the fifth straight game.

UP NEXT

Lightning: Conclude their three-game California road trip at San Jose on Saturday.

Kings: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

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Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press