VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored his 500th NHL goal and then added two more for a hat trick, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.
Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov each had a goal and an assist in Tampa Bay's fifth consecutive win. Alex Killorn had two assists and Brian Elliott stopped 37 shots.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Quinn Hughes each scored a power-play goal in the third period for Vancouver (18-23-3).
Canucks goaltender Spencer Martin allowed four goals on 10 shots before being pulled just past the midway mark of the first period. He was replaced by Collin Delia, who made 14 saves.
The Lightning (29-13-1) also beat the Canucks 5-4 in Tampa last week.
Vancouver has not won in regulation since a 4-2 victory over Colorado on Jan. 5. The Canucks are 2-8-0 in their last 10 games.
Stamkos sent his third goal of the night — and 21st of the season — into the empty net with 1:22 left.
Hughes cut the Lightning lead to 4-2 after Stamkos was called for tripping midway through the third.
The defenseman muscled his way to the front of the net and forced a backhanded shot up and over Elliott for his fourth goal of the season at the 9:10 mark.
