Tampa Bay 8, Utah 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 27, 2025
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Eric Furlatt, Justin Kea
Linesmen:
Julien Fournier, Matt MacPherson
Attendance:
19092
By Field Level Media
Jake Guentzel netted even-strength and power-play goals, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy tied for the league lead with his sixth shutout, and the Tampa Bay Lightning gained redemption by walloping the visiting Utah Hockey Club 8-0 on Thursday night.
Guentzel broke a tie with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl with his NHL-leading 16th power-play tally in a four-goal second period, while Nikita Kucherov hit the net and dished three assists, giving him seven points over two matches.
In dealing Utah its sixth blanking, Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for his 40th career shutout as Tampa Bay (42-25-5, 89 points) got payback for Saturday's 6-4 loss in Salt Lake City.
Brayden Point potted his 300th career goal and had an assist, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, and Victor Hedman added a goal and two assists. Gage Goncalves also tallied.
Ryan McDonagh posted two assists in his 1,000th game, and Yanni Gourde added two of his own.
With a third straight home victory, the Lightning boosted their home mark to 26-8-2 -- 15-2-1 since Jan. 1 -- and 20-12-0 against the Western Conference.
Utah (32-29-11, 75 points) saw goalie Karel Vejmelka surrender four goals on 11 shots through 29:14 before being replaced by Jaxson Stauber, who stopped six shots.
As it did in Tuesday's 6-1 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the home club excelled offensively again with accuracy on two of the opening four shots.
Guentzel found a rebound at the 90-second mark and tied Point for the team lead in goals. Hedman then flipped a wrister that Vejmelka tipped with his right-handed glove but could not bring in at 4:20.
The Lightning poured it on in the second, starting with Goncalves' chip of a long shot by Emil Lilleberg at 5:05. Kucherov made it 4-0 when he took a pass from Point on a rush and lifted a backhander past Vejmelka at 9:14 for goal No. 32.
Guentzel took the team lead from Point with his 36th marker before Bjorkstrand netted for the second time since joining the Lightning for a 6-0 edge.
Point and Bjorkstrand tallied in the third to match the club's season high of eight goals.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Utah |
|
Tampa Bay |
N/A |
Points |
Nikita Kucherov 4 |
N/A |
Goals |
Oliver Bjorkstrand 2 |
N/A |
Assists |
Nikita Kucherov 3 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Jake Guentzel 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Karel Vejmelka .636 |
Save Percentage |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 1.000 |
Karel Vejmelka 7 |
Saves |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 25 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Utah
|
25 |
0 |
0-2 |
1-2 |
9 |
30 |
Tampa Bay
|
21 |
8 |
1-2 |
2-2 |
9 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Lightning have a W/L % of .585 after a win and .581 after a loss.
-
Utah will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Hockey Club have a W/L % of .394 after a win and .487 after a loss.