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5 in a row! Lightning start road trip with shutout of St. Louis

Credit: Joel Auerbach
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 29 saves as the Lightning lost for only the third time in 16 games (12-3-1).

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point scored, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the St. Louis Blues 3-0 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the NHL's top two teams.

Tyler Johnson added an empty netter as Tampa Bay (22-6-2) earned its fifth straight win. It was Vasilevskiy's third shutout of the season and the seventh of his career.

Jake Allen made 22 saves for St. Louis, which had won four in a row. The Blues (21-9-2) were shut out for the third time at home this season.

Point put Tampa Bay in front when he lifted in a rebound of his own shot at 19:15 of the first period. From the side of the net, Johnson fed Point in the slot. His shot hit the crossbar and caromed to the right. Point alertly followed the puck and extended his point streak to five games, setting a career high.

Vasilevskiy had several nice saves, turning away Vladimir Tarasenko on a 2-on-1 breakaway in the second period. Vasilevskiy leads the league in wins with 20, and Allen is second with 17.

The Lightning got to Allen again when Kucherov scored on a wrist shot at 15:37 of the final period. It was his 21st goal of the season.

Tampa Bay earned its first sweep of a multigame season series against St. Louis in franchise history. The Lightning beat the visiting Blues 2-1 on Oct. 14.

NOTES: The Blues placed captain Alex Pietrangelo on injured reserve and recalled fellow defenseman Jordan Schmaltz from the minors. Pietrangelo, who is nursing a lower-body injury, has seven goals and 16 assists in 30 games this season. Schmaltz was selected by St. Louis with the 25th overall pick of the 2012 draft. ... Lightning D Braydon Coburn missed his fifth consecutive game with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

Lightning: Visit Arizona on Thursday.

Blues: Host Anaheim on Thursday.

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