TAMPA-- Tyler Johnson scored a hat trick for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5-4 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena on Tuesday.
It was Johnson's third NHL regular-season hat trick and the first for the Lightning this season. "I got pretty fortunate on the first two, just being in the right spot at the right time and guys getting pucks to the net," Johnson said. "The last one was a little foot race and I kind of got fortunate with the way the puck bounced there." \[WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Lightning highlights\] Johnson tied the game 2-2 at 16:26 of the first period with a tip off a shot from Anton Stralman. He gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead at 1:58 of the second period with a rebound of his shot after Jake Dotchin hit the post from the point. Johnson completed the hat trick at 14:54 of the third period when he raced past Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin to win the puck and scored on a put back to give the Lightning a 5-3 lead.
"[Johnson] earned that [hat trick], what a remarkable goal, that third one," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "That was [man on man] and he won the battle. He was exceptional tonight." Dotchin and Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning (31-9-3), who have won nine of their past 10 at home. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves. Nikita Kucherov got his 33rd assist and leads the NHL with 60 points.
Johnson has 12 goals in the past 17 games after scoring four in the first 25. "We made a switch with lines and I've found some chemistry with [Brayden] Point and [Ondrej] Palat," Johnson said. "Things have just kind of taken off and it's really fun playing with those guys." Justin Faulk, Elias Lindholm, Brock McGinn and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes (19-15-8), who are 1-3-1 in their past five games. Cam Ward made 29 saves. Faulk made it 3-3 with a power-play goal from center point at 10:36 of the second period. Dotchin gave the Lightning a 4-3 lead 9:27 into the third with a shot from the top of the left circle that beat Ward at the far post.
"[The Lightning] don't go too many nights without some Grade A chances, but I think we gave up too many," Faulk said. "It's tough to win if you have to score six goals." McGinn gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 3:23 of the first period with a power-play goal off a redirection. It was his first power-play goal in 119 NHL games. Hedman tied the game 1-1 with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that hit the bottom of Ward's glove and went in the net at 10:02. Aho put the Hurricanes ahead 2-1 at 12:10 when he capitalized on a turnover and beat Vasilevskiy glove side. Lindholm scored with 1:18 remaining in the third period to make it 5-4.
"There were some offensive-zone turnovers that hurt us and led to their transition game," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "But for the most part guys were trying to make plays and moving their feet. We did a good job of finding each other [on the power play] and got rewarded for it."
Goal of the game
Johnson's goal at 14:54 of the third period.
Save of the game
Vasilevskiy's save on Josh Jooris at 10:25 of the third period.
Highlight of the game
Johnson's goal at 1:58 of the second period.
They said it
"This was tough. We want to get those points and we had a chance tonight. We have to learn to cut down on the mistakes." -- Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho "I couldn't tell you the last time we had a power play, we definitely haven't had them in the past two games, and we've pulled them both out." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper
Need to know
Johnson's other regular-season hat tricks were Jan. 25, 2014 against the Colorado Avalanche and Dec. 23, 2014 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had a hat trick in Game 2 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers. ... Dotchin was in the lineup after defenseman Dan Girardi (neck) was scratched. Girardi skated during warmups and is day to day. ... McGinn's goal was his first since Nov. 28 (18 games). ... Kucherov reached 60 points in 43 games, faster than any Lightning player other than Vincent Lecavalier, who did so in 41 games in 2007-08.
What's next
Hurricanes: At the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSWA, FS-SE, NHL.TV) Lightning: Host the Calgary Flames on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SUN, SNW, NHL.TV)
