Lightning beat Blackhawks 3-1; Stamkos injures left leg
TAMPA, FL - MARCH 11: Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn (17) shoots the puck during the NHL Hockey match between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks on March 11th, 2023 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon S
TAMPA, Fla. - Brayden Point scored his second goal of the game with a minute left and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Saturday night after losing captain Steven Stamkos to a leg injury.
Point broke a tie with a one-timer from between the circles that beat Petr Mrazek. He has a career-high 43 goals.
Brandon Hagel, acquired from Chicago in a trade on March 18, 2022, hit the empty net with two seconds remaining.
The Lightning lost Stamkos, their career leader in goals and points, late in the first period with a left leg injury after he got tangled up with Chicago forward Joey Anderson and both players fell to the ice. Stamkos skated off the ice, holding his leg, and did not return.
Point opened the scoring at 6:21 of the second period, picking up his own rebound and lifting it past Mrazek.
Taylor Raddysh, acquired by Chicago in the trade for Hagel, tied it at 5:23 of the third period. Cole Guttman chased down the rebound of Tyler Johnson’s shot behind the net and centered for Raddysh, who snapped a shot past Brian Elliott for his career-high 17th goal.
Elliott finished with 23 saves, helping the Lightning beat the Blackhawks for the eighth straight time. Mrazek made 34 saves for the Blackhawks, the NHL’s lowest-scoring team.
Neither team generated much offense in the scoreless first period. The best chance came in the final minute, when Mrazek stopped Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn on a 2-on-1 short-handed rush.
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay’s top defenseman, returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Host Boston on Tuesday night.
Lightning: Host Winnipeg on Sunday night.