Nikita Kucherov climbed into the franchise record books with his natural hat trick and Andrei Vasilevskiy stayed strong in net as the Tampa Bay Lightning opened the 2024-25 season with a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

Kucherov scored the season-opening game-winning goal on the power play at 11:06 of the third period, firing a one-time slap shot past Carolina goalkeeper Frederik Andersen for a 2-1 lead. He scored two unanswered goals in the third period, earning his sixth career hat trick.

Kucherov’s power-play goal on Friday gave him 875 career points, passing Vincent Lecavalier for the third-most points in franchise history. The hat trick was the sixth of his career, a number that ties him with Lecavalier for the third-most hat tricks in Lightning team history (Martin St. Louis 8, Steven Stamkos 13).

“I think we just played the right way and executed the game plan,” Kucherov said of the win. “Of course it is the first and difficult game against Carolina in Carolina. I’m happy with the win and happy with how we played in the third period and throughout the game.”

The Lightning scored twice on the power play – once in the second period and again in the third – and defeated the hosts at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh despite trailing the Hurricanes 1-0 after the first period.

The Lightning dominated possession and shots in the first 15 minutes of the game, starting with a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal before a turnover allowed Carolina captain Jordan Staal to score the lead at 14:32 of the first period . On the home team’s second shot of the game, Staal flicked a wraparound pass from William Carrier in front of the net.

Carolina found some energy with the goal, but Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy saved numerous good chances in the final minutes of the first period to limit the Bolts’ deficit to a single goal.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper praised his team’s “gamesmanship,” especially after a week filled with uncertainty over the approach of Hurricane Milton.

“I loved our start. … They probably leaned on us a little in the second moment. We bent, we didn’t give in, and then I thought we had an excellent third place. I think we may have missed a scoring opportunity throughout the third period and that means the game ends 1-1,” Cooper said.

“So the spirit of the group was excellent, especially considering what we’ve been through in the last seven days, dealing with two hurricanes during training camp and bringing family, friends and everyone here to stay. “I’m one Week here just getting ready for a hockey game, especially with everything going on at home. So I have to give the guys a lot of credit. In the end, I hope people might watch us in Tampa. “We are proud of their team and what they saw tonight.”

Defenseman Victor Hedman finished his first game as Lightning captain with three assists, and Vasilevskiy secured the win by stopping 20 of 21 shots.

“I think we started very well. The first 15 (minutes) were fun, then they backed off a little bit,” Hedman said Friday. “But we faced adversity and special teams came through. Vasy was great, especially in the last five minutes of the first period and throughout the second period. He made some crucial saves for us, so I’m just super proud of those guys.”

Brayden Point scored Tampa Bay’s first goal of the season on the power play 2:33 into the second period. Hedman found Kucherov in the corner and he put an open point in the slot. Point pulled the puck to the right before knocking the puck off the crossbar and into the net, ending the game 1-1.

Kucherov said the goal crease is an area where Point has a devastating impact on opposing goalkeepers.

“I think he’s the best player in the league at this point,” Kucherov said. “He can catch any pass and put it in the back of the net and he did it, so I’m happy for him.”

The Hurricanes pushed back after Point’s goal and ended the second period with an 11-4 win over the visitors, but Vasilevskiy stopped every puck he faced in frame. Vasilevskiy also helped the Lightning penalty kill all four of the Hurricanes’ power play opportunities on Friday.

“I thought he was our best player the whole game,” Kucherov said of his goalie. “Vasy was Vasy and when he shows his game we all have confidence. He is the best goalkeeper in the league. No question.”

Kucherov’s game-winner took just six seconds of play after Anthony Cirelli converted a Carolina penalty.

Nick Paul won a faceoff on the power play before Kucherov tipped the puck back to Hedman, who returned the puck to Kucherov at the top of the faceoff circle. The winger once fired a shot through the side of Andersen’s glove, securing his record-breaking first goal of the season and second point of the night.

Hedman called the power play goals “timely.”

“It was huge,” he said. “Timely goals in the game and we want to keep producing. We have some special players on the power play who can make a difference.”

With Point’s goal and Kucherov’s assist on Friday, the Lightning duo has now contributed to the team’s first goal of the season for the third straight year.

Kucherov tied Lecavalier’s record with his assist for Point’s goal in the first period. His sixth career hat trick on Friday also tied Lecavalier for the third-most hat trick in Bolts history.

Offseason acquisition forward Jake Guentzel earned his first point as a Bolt with an assist on Kucherov’s first unanswered goal at 17:53 of the third period. Guentzel got his second assist when Kucherov completed the hat trick with another empty-netter by sneaking behind the Carolina defense at 19:44.

Kucherov finished with three goals and one assist for four points after collecting seven points in two games against the Hurricanes in 2023-24.

Screws in numbers
-Nikita Kucherov became the second player in franchise history to score a hat trick in a season opener, joining Chris Kontos, who scored four goals in the Lightning’s opening game in 1992. Along with Kontos and Joe Reekie (1992), Kucherov was the only Lightning player to record a four-point night in the season opener. Kucherov became the fifth player in team history to score multiple natural hat tricks, joining Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, Freddy Modin and Martin St. Louis (all with two) (also on February 27, 2017).

-Conor Geekie made his NHL debut for the Lightning, logging 9:51 of ice time, recording one goal and winning two of eight faceoffs.

-Jake Guentzel scored his first point for the Lightning in a game he finished with two assists, 17:56 of ice time, two shots on goal and one blocked shot.

-Captain Victor Hedman recorded three assists in Friday’s season opener. Hedman has 17 career points in the season opener, trailing only Steven Stamkos (18).

-Erik Cernak and Nick Paul also recorded their first assists of the season. Cernak had the second assist on Tampa Bay’s third goal and Paul had the second assist on Kucherov’s opening goal.

-Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 21 shots to secure his first win of the 2024/25 season. Vasilevskiy now has 294 career wins, six away from becoming the 40th goaltender in NHL history to reach 300 career wins.

Flash forward
The Lightning are scheduled to host the Vancouver Canucks this Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at AMALIE Arena.