Lightning win 6th straight with late comeback vs. Kings

Field Level Media|published: Thu 1st January, 22:07 2026

Jan 1, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59), Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21), and Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrate a goal during the first period against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images

Anthony Cirelli, Gage Goncalves and Nikita Kucherov scored in the final four minutes to lift the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-3 come-from-behind win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

Cirelli was the first to a loose puck and chipped it into the top of the net to tie it at 3 at 16:41. Goncalves brought the puck out from behind the net and scored to move the Lightning ahead at 18:19, then Kucherov scored into an empty net with 45 seconds left.

Kucherov also had two assists, Brayden Point scored twice, Cirelli added an assist and Jonas Johansson made 17 saves for Tampa Bay, which has won six in a row.

Andrei Kuzmenko and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist, Jeff Malott also scored, Corey Perry had three assists and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves for Los Angeles after being unavailable the previous six games because of an upper-body injury.

Anze Kopitar was in the penalty box for tripping Dominic James when Jake Guentzel received a pass from Kucherov as he cut through the right circle. Guentzel, who had two assists, spotted Point at the far post and Point pulled the puck away from Kuemper before sliding it into the open net for a 1-0 lead at 3:34 of the first.

Malott, who was a healthy scratch the previous six games, tied it at 1 just after coming onto the ice for his first shift. He located a loose puck near the right hash marks and shot the puck into the net at 4:43.

The Kings were on their first power play when Johansson saved Perry's tip shot, but the rebound came to Kuzmenko and he shot the puck into the net from the bottom of the left circle for a 2-1 lead at 6:14 of the first.

It was Kuzmenko's team-leading fifth power-play goal of the season.

Kuemper was caught on the wrong side of the crease when the puck went behind the net and Point scored into the open side to tie it 2-2 at 18:07 of the second.

The Kings moved back in front 3-2 at 1:37 of the third period when Fiala scored on a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice feed from Perry while on a power play.

--Field Level Media

151492

Latest