Hot Trends: Lightning defeat Canucks for second franchise win in Vancouver

Valtteri Filppula scored a goal and added an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 in NHL action Wednesday night.

The Lightning (24-12-4), whose franchise is 21 years old, posted only its second all-time win in Vancouver. Tampa Bay made history of another sort by posting a fourth straight road win for the first time since Jan. 8 to Feb. 7, 2008.





A Detroit Red Wings fan coated with snow watches during the third period of the Winter Classic outdoor NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014. AP In Pictures Images from Wednesday's Winter Classic



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Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn also scored for Tampa Bay.

Brad Richardson and Zac Dalpe replied for the Canucks (23-12-7), who suffered their second consecutive loss.

Bolts goaltender Ben Bishop made 28 saves for his 21st win of the season as the Lightning outshot the hosts 33-30. Vancouver's Eddie Lack recorded 29 saves.

Neither team could score in the first period despite some decent chances. Bishop stopped David Booth early on a rush, and Lack made a number of key saves. In one of his best moves, Lack stopped Ondrej Palat on a one-timer from the side of the net with just under 11 minutes gone.

Moments later, with Tampa enjoying an 8-4 edge in shots and pressing, Vancouver coach John Tortorella called a timeout. The move gave some new life to the Canucks' attack, and they applied some consistent pressure in the final nine minutes, but still could not score.

Both teams recorded 11 shots.

In the first minute of the second period, Lack denied Filppula on a 3-on-2 rush, stopping his shot from the wing and then smothering the rebound.

Richardson opened the scoring at 11:25 as he raced in alone and beat Bishop with a quick shot after Vancouver defenceman Dan Hamhuis forced a turnover in the neutral zone with a hip check on Richard Panik.

But the tight game quickly broke open as the clubs produced three goals in only 34 seconds.

Filpulla and Johnson scored 20 seconds apart to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. But the Canucks countered only 14 seconds later as Dalpe banged in a goalmouth pass from Dale Weise.

A botched Vancouver clearing attempt enabled Kucherov to put the Bolts ahead 3-2 during a power play with only 2.6 seconds left in the second period. Kucherov's riser went in off the skates of Hamhuis as he slid in an attempt to block the shot.

Killorn extended Tampa Bay's lead to 4-2 as he scored on a deflection with about seven and a half minutes gone in the third period.

Notes: Tampa Bay winger Ryan Malone returned after missing 16 games with a fractured ankle. a Vancouver centre Ryan Kesler was named earlier Wednesday to the U.S. Olympic team. He played for the American squad that won a silver medal in 2010. a Lightning centre Steven Stamkos skated Wednesday morning and said he hopes to recover from the broken leg he suffered in November in time to play for Canada at next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. a The Lightning played in Vancouver for the first time since Dec. 11, 2010. a Former Canucks defenceman Sami Salo, who sat out his third straight game with an upper-body injury, drew a loud cheer from the crowd when he was shown on the scoreboard screen while sitting in the press box. He made his first visit with the Lightning since signing with Tampa Bay in the summer of 2011. a Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo took part in his first workout with the team, during its morning skate, since he was injured Dec. 22 against Winnipeg. Luongo revealed he suffered a lower-body injury on a shot by Evander Kane and hopes to return to the lineup in the next few days. ... The Canucks have re-assigned centre Jeremy Welsh to Utica of the AHL.