Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point scored twice to eclipse the 50-goal plateau for the first time, goaltender Brian Elliott stopped 32 shots and the Lightning closed the regular season Thursday night with a 5-0 shutout of the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
With his club up 2-0 in the third period and on the power play, Point — who added an assist — popped in a sharp-angled marker to reach the half-century mark at 10:47. The tally was his 20th on the power play.
He added an empty-net goal with 4:01 remaining as the Lightning won for the first time in five games (1-4-0) and just the fourth time in their last 12 (4-8-0).
Point’s previous season-best goal mark was 41 in 2018-19.
Brandon Hagel added to his best goal-scoring campaign with his 30th and added an assist for the Lightning (46-30-6, 98 points), who split the season series 2-2-0 with the Wings and finished 28-8-5 on home ice.
Alex Killorn set a new career high in goals, as well, and also had a helper, and Michael Eyssimont notched his first goal with the Lightning.
In perhaps his final NHL game, the 38-year-old Elliott (12-8-2) recorded his 45th career shutout and second this season. He blanked the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 15.
Ross Colton and Mikhail Sergachev each posted two assists.
Goalie Ville Husso (26-22-7) stopped 27 shots, but the Wings (35-37-10, 80 points) were blanked for the fifth time — the second by Tampa Bay — and fell to 7-19-5 in the past 31 matches against the Eastern Conference champions.
After missing Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury, Detroit captain Dylan Larkin returned to the lineup. He finished his season with a career-high 79 points (32 goals, 47 assists).
In its last home game before hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3 of the postseason’s first round, Tampa Bay jumped out front when Killorn gathered a pass from Anthony Cirelli and buried his career-high 27th goal from the left circle at 7:49.
The second-line right winger potted 26 in the 2019-20 campaign and has a career high in points (63) and assists (36) this season.
Killorn’s goal stood as the only Lightning shot on goal until the period’s final 30 seconds, with Detroit holding a 12-3 advantage.
During a Lightning odd-man rush in the third period, a puck got away from Point, and Hagel added some insurance in hitting the 30-goal mark.
–Field Level Media