TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jesper Bratt scored three goals for his first NHL hat trick as the New Jersey Devils rallied from two goals down to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Sunday night to end the game. to a three-game streak.
Nico Hischier and Nolan Foote also scored to help the Devils improve their league road record to 26-5-4. Vitek Vanecek finished with 22 saves to help New Jersey to a win after losing at home to the Lightning on Tuesday and Thursday before blowing a 2-0 lead in a 4-2 loss at Florida on Saturday.
Nikita Kucherov reached the 100-point mark for the third time in his career with a first-half goal and Alex Killorn also scored for the Lightning, who had won three in a row. Andrei Vasilevskiy had 34 saves.
Kucherov put Tampa Bay ahead 1-0 at 3:26 of the first period, after Steven Stamkos got past Vanecek to reach the 100-point mark. Kucherov previously had 100 points in 2017-18 and then led the NHL with 128 in 2018-19.
Killorn made it 2-0 at 6:30 of the second, going wild in the slot before beating Vanecek.
The Devils responded 9 seconds later when Bratt received a pass from Hischier and beat Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot from the slot. He tied it another 2:43 later when his direct shot from inside the blue line sailed through traffic and past Vasilevskiy.
The first play taken in the 2017 NHL Draft, Hischier became a first-time 30-goal scorer and put New Jersey ahead with just under eight minutes remaining in the half period by beating Vasilevskiy from the slot. high.
Foote made it 4-2 at 9:51 of the third with his first of the season, and Bratt completed his hat-trick with an empty net with 11.6 seconds remaining for his 30th.
Devils: They host Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Lightning: In Montreal on Tuesday night.
