NEWARK, N.J. (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Lightning erupted for four first-period goals and cruised to an 8-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday night. Nikita Kucherov led the charge with four assists for Tampa Bay, which scored in every period before an announced crowd of 16,042. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and added an assist, while Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists. Jonas Johansson made 33 saves for the win. Luke Hughes and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who fell behind early and could not recover. Tampa Bay improved to 18-13, and New Jersey dropped to 17-14. The Lightning have won both meetings between the teams this season by a combined score of 13-5.

NEWARK, N.J. (Interstat) — Nikita Kucherov orchestrated a dominant offensive performance with four assists, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a decisive 8-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday night. The Lightning, who improved to 18-13, erupted for four first-period goals to seize control early and never looked back, sweeping the three-game season series with their Metropolitan Division opponent. The Devils fell to 17-14. Tampa Bay’s attack was relentless and balanced, with six different players scoring goals and 13 registering at least a point. Kucherov, the game’s top star, was at the center of it all, setting up scores and extending his point streak. “We came out with the right mindset,” Kucherov said. “We moved the puck well and capitalized on our chances. It was a good response from our group.” The Lightning set the tone just 15 seconds into the game. On the power play following a hooking penalty to New Jersey’s Nico Hischier, Jake Guentzel opened the scoring with a wrist shot, assisted by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Darren Raddysh. The onslaught continued. Nick Paul made it 2-0 at the 2:57 mark, converting after a Devils turnover. Less than a minute later, defenseman Raddysh blasted a slap shot past goaltender Jake Allen, with Kucherov and Brandon Hagel earning assists. Pontus Holmberg capped the first-period barrage at 7:56, finishing a backhand chance to extend the lead to 4-0. New Jersey showed a brief sign of life when defenseman Luke Hughes snapped a wrist shot past Tampa Bay goaltender Jonas Johansson at the 7-minute mark of the first to make it 4-1. Johansson was otherwise stellar, making 33 saves on 37 shots for the win. Any momentum for the home team was quickly extinguished in the second period. Bjorkstrand notched his first of the night at 12:19, and Hagel scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season on a wrist shot at 16:35, restoring Tampa Bay’s four-goal cushion at 6-1. Kucherov assisted on Hagel’s goal for his third helper of the night. The Devils’ Jesper Bratt scored a power-play goal late in the second period to cut the deficit to 6-2 heading into the final frame. Tampa Bay put the game fully out of reach early in the third. Just 1:55 into the period, Brayden Point buried a wrist shot, with Kucherov recording his fourth assist. Bjorkstrand then netted his second goal of the game at 5:57, finishing a feed from Guentzel to make it 8-2. New Jersey added two consolation goals in the third period. Paul Cotter scored on the power play at 5:28, and Angus Crookshank netted his first of the season at 9:13, but the outcome was long decided. Beyond Kucherov’s playmaking, the Lightning received multi-point efforts from Bjorkstrand (two goals, one assist), Guentzel (one goal, two assists), Hagel (one goal, one assist), Point (one goal, one assist), Raddysh (one goal, one assist) and defenseman Janis Moser (two assists). The Lightning’s special teams were effective, going 1 for 3 on the power play while killing three of four Devils advantages. For New Jersey, Cotter finished with a goal and an assist, while Hughes had a goal and an assist. Allen was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots in the first period. Jacob Markstrom played the final two periods, making 21 saves on 25 shots. The game featured several penalties, including a fighting major between Tampa Bay’s Scott Sabourin and New Jersey’s Brenden Dillon in the first period. The Lightning’s offensive outburst marked a season high in goals and provided a stark contrast to their previous game, a 2-0 loss in Toronto. They will look to carry this momentum into a road game against the New York Islanders on Saturday. The Devils, who had won four of their last five entering the game, will aim to regroup when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. The announced attendance was 16,042.

Preview: Lightning, Devils Meet in Newark With Identical Records NEWARK, N.J. (Interstat) — Two teams looking to halt slides and break a tie in the standings will meet Thursday when the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. Both clubs enter with identical 16-13 records across all competitions. The Lightning have lost three straight, including a 2-0 shutout in Toronto on Monday, and have been held to three total goals during the skid. The Devils have dropped four consecutive games, most recently a 4-1 loss in Boston on Saturday, and have been shut out twice in that span. The season series is split, with each team winning on home ice. The Lightning dominated the last meeting, a 5-1 victory in Tampa on Nov. 18. The Devils took the first matchup 5-3 on Oct. 11. A key matchup will feature two defensemen on different trajectories. Tampa Bay’s Maxwell Crozier will be one to watch as he seeks to contribute more offensively. In his last six games, Crozier has recorded 12 shots on goal but has not registered a point, taking seven penalty minutes in that stretch. He had five penalty minutes in the loss to Toronto. For New Jersey, all eyes will be on Luke Hughes, who has been a bright spot during the team’s struggles. The dynamic blueliner has four assists in his last nine games and leads Devils defensemen in scoring. He logged an assist and three shots against Boston. Both teams are searching for consistency. Before its current three-game losing streak, Tampa Bay had won five of six. New Jersey’s four-game skid follows a stretch where they earned points in five of six contests (4-1-1). The Lightning continue a road trip Saturday at the New York Islanders. The Devils remain home to host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.