John Carlson did not need long to give the Tampa Bay Lightning the kind of blue-line production they signed him to deliver. In a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday at Benchmark International Arena, the defenseman scored twice, his first goals in a Lightning sweater, including the club's first power-play goal of the season, and Tampa Bay finished a three-game homestand without a loss.
Carlson joined Tampa Bay on July 1 on a two-year deal worth $17 million. He led all players Thursday with nine shots on goal, NHL.com reported, and coach Jon Cooper's reaction was direct: the Lightning need him to do that.
How the lead was built
Anthony Cirelli opened the scoring at 5:26 of the first period, redirecting Erik Cernak's point shot. Thirty-six seconds later, Carlson beat Jesper Wallstedt from the point with Gage Goncalves screening in front. Carlson described it as a goalie-didn't-see-it kind of goal and credited the screen.
Quinn Hughes cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second with a point shot through traffic. Carlson answered on the power play at 4:55, finishing a one-timer from the high slot off a Nikita Kucherov feed. It was Tampa Bay's first man-advantage goal after an 0-for-13 start through three games, according to NHL.com.
Carlson said Kucherov looked defenders off and that the Lightning talk constantly about flipping coverages and sneaking into soft ice.
Blake Coleman pulled Minnesota within one at 14:01 of the second on a power-play strike set up by Kirill Kaprizov. Neither team scored in the third.
