Kucherov has 2 assists in return, Lightning beat Flames 4-1

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had a pair of nifty assists in his return from a lengthy injury during Tampa Bay's three-goal third period in the Lightning's 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

Corey Perry, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn scored to help Tampa Bay (23-8-5, 51 points) become the first NHL team to reach 50 points for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves, losing his shutout bid when Dillon Dube scored with 4:06 left.

Kucherov, who missed 32 games with an undisclosed lower-body injury that required surgery, sent a pass through the slot from the low right circle to set up Point's goal that put the Lightning up…