There are a lot of things you can say about this season’s Tampa Bay Lightning. Some of those things might even be of the negative variety. One thing that you can’t say is that this team doesn’t put out the effort. There have been some games over the past few seasons where the work ethic of the Lightning could be questioned. This season, there does seem to be a bit more of a desperation in their game overall. On Saturday night, despite being down three goals, they didn’t stop playing and clawed their way back to beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-4.
With Brandon Hagel on injured reserve, and Nikita Kucherov battling an illness, but in the line-up, the Bolts used their their entire line-up to mount the comeback and eventually surpass the Hurricanes in order to pick up their first win at home in the month of December.
The Lightning were down 2-0 before the foam settled on the beer as Eric Robinson and Jackson Blake scored four minutes into the game. Bradly Nadeau made it 3-0 with under eight minutes to go in the period and the rout seemed to be on.
So, the Lightning were smoked on the scoreboard in what has been their best period of the season. That boded well for the second period, right? Apparently it did. In the same way that you eat an elephant – one piece at a time, the Lightning mounted their comeback one goal at a time. The first goal came just 30 seconds into the middle frame as Dominic James slid a nifty pass to Gage Goncalves in front of the net. If there was anyone who needed to find the back of the net, it was The Portuguese Pistol. Goncalves put it past Pytor Kochetkov (who finished with 23 saves on 28 shots) to get the Lightning on the board.
Another struggling goalscorer officially made it a game as Brayden Point tapped home a shot-pass from Charle-Edouard D’Astous for his sixth goal of the season. Just 80 seconds into the period and it was a one-goal game. It took most of the period, but the third of three unlikely sources tied it up.
We all know Jack Finley isn’t the swiftest of skaters, but one thing with being a little behind the play is that you are behind the defense if there is a turnover. The Lightning were able to generate said turnover and James sent Finley in on a breakaway. The big guy, back from his conditioning stint in Syracuse, didn’t score on his first shot, but he was able to gather his own rebound and put it past Kochetkov. Just like that, the game was tied heading into the third period.
Andrei Svechnikov tried to spoil the fun as he scored his eighth goal of the season just 2:47 into the final period. The Bolts could have folded, but that’s not in their nature this season. Ryan McDonagh, who is showing some signs of his old goal-scoring ways tied things back up 26 seconds later. Three minutes later, the Bolts had their first lead of the night as Jake Guentzel (where would this team be without him) dug out a loose puck in the crease and poked it past the goaltender. He added an empty-net goal in the dying seconds, and just like that, not only did the Lightning win, they covered the 1.5 goals.
While the offense gets kudos for finally finding the back of the net, credit to their defensive play as they held the Hurricanes to just 44 shot attempts and just 11 shots on goal over the final two periods. There aren’t many times Carolina will be out shot in a game this season, but the Lightning pulled that off on Saturday.
Was it a pretty win? Heck no. The Hurricanes scored on two of their five power plays while the Lightning went 0-for-3 with the extra skater. Andrei Vasilevskiy, who finished with 18 saves on 22 shots, wasn’t at his best. But, the Lightning found a way to win. After a long string of games where they lost games that the stats said they probably should have won, they found a way to win a game they probably should have lost and picked up two huge points.
D’Astous finished with two assists. James had two helpers. It was the perfect definition of a next-man-up game, and it paid off for the Lightning. Is it a formula for success? No, but sometimes a win like this takes the weight off of a team’s shoulders and they can get back to a successful style of playing.
The Details
[Box Score] [Natural Stat Trick] [Lightning Ice Time]
The Goals
Gage Goncalves [3] (Dominic James, Max Crozier) 3-1 Hurricanes
"SCORREEE!!! GONCALVES!!!" James finds Gonzo on the back door to get on the board! #CARvsTBL 🎧: boltsaud.io/live 📻: 102.5 The Bone
— Lightning Audio Network (@boltsradio.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 8:18 PM
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Brayden Point [6] (Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Nikita Kucherov) 3-2 Hurricanes
"TIPPED IN FRONT, BRAYDEN POINT!!!!!" D'Astous with the patience for a shot pass to Pointer! #CARvsTBL 🎧: boltsaud.io/live 📻: 102.5 The Bone
— Lightning Audio Network (@boltsradio.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 8:25 PM
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Jack Finley [2] (Dominic James, Yanni Gourde) 3-3
"FINLEY! FINLEY! HE PUT IN HIS OWN REBOUND!!!!!" James and Finley cash in on the odd man rush to tie things up after being down 3-0 at the end of the first period! #CARvsTBL 🎧: boltsaud.io/live 📻: 102.5 The Bone
— Lightning Audio Network (@boltsradio.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
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Ryan McDonagh [4] (Pontus Holmberg, Charle-Edouard D’Astous) 4-4
"SCORREE!!! MCDONAGH!!!" McDonagh with Kuch's "no move" breakaway finish! #CARvsTBL 🎧: boltsaud.io/live 📻: 102.5 The Bone
— Lightning Audio Network (@boltsradio.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 9:21 PM
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Jake Guentzel [16] (J.J. Moser, Nick Paul) 5-4 Lightning
Tampa Bay goal! Scored by Jake Guentzel with 13:22 remaining in the 3rd period. Assisted by J.J. Moser and Nick Paul. Tampa Bay: 5 Carolina: 4 #CARvsTBL #GoBolts #RaiseUp
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 9:23 PM
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Jake Guentzel [17] (Ryan McDonagh) Empty Net, 6-4 Lightning
Empty net goal for Tampa Bay! Scored by Jake Guentzel with 00:27 remaining in the 3rd period. Assisted by Ryan McDonagh. Tampa Bay: 6 Carolina: 4 #CARvsTBL #GoBolts #RaiseUp
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) December 20, 2025 at 9:53 PM
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Pretty Colors
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Tampa Bay Lightning on 2025-12-20 #GoBolts
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards.com) December 20, 2025 at 9:51 PM
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