Overview
- The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 Thursday night after John Carlson scored twice, including a power-play one-timer that gave Tampa Bay a two-goal cushion.
- Anthony Cirelli opened the scoring and Quinn Hughes and Blake Coleman replied for Minnesota, which rallied late but could not tie the game after pulling its goalie.
- Dennis Hildeby made a strong debut in goal for Tampa Bay with a high-save outing credited as 33 or 34 saves in different reports, earning his first victory with the team.
- Minnesota played without defenseman Olli Maatta and forward Nick Foligno because of late scratches, lineup changes that coaches said contributed to an unsettled start for the Wild.
- The win extended Tampa Bay’s streak to three games and marked Minnesota’s first regulation loss of the season while signaling a notable early-season power-play turnaround for the Lightning.