The Tampa Bay Lightning had the magic touch Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, scoring eight goals on 14 shots in an 8-2 win.

The Bolts are the first team in NHL history to score at least eight goals on 14 or fewer shots in a contest since shots were first officially tracked in 1955-56, per Opta Stats. Tampa Bay's 57.1% shooting percentage is believed to be a single-game NHL record.

Brayden Point scored the final goal of the evening to complete the hat trick. He also collected two assists in the game.

Nikita Kucherov picked up an assist on the last goal to cap a six-point night, which tied the franchise's single-game record set by Doug Crossman in 1992. Kucherov leads all NHL skaters with 35 points in 20 games.

The Lightning directed just one shot on goal during the game's opening 20 minutes and found themselves down by one heading into the first intermission. Tampa Bay netted three power-play goals in the second period before completely breaking the contest open with five unanswered tallies in the final stanza.

"The power play executed well," Kucherov said after the game. "That gave us momentum, and I thought we played better as the game went on."

He added, "You just try and play the right way, follow the game plan. When you execute the plan, it sometimes pays off."

Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta was in net for all eight goals. His save percentage dropped from .885 before the contest to .854 afterward.

It was a triumphant performance in the other crease, as Andrei Vasilevskiy shined in his season debut with 22 saves on 24 shots. The former Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner missed the first 20 games of the campaign after having back surgery in September.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said he believed Vasilevskiy's return helped fuel the Bolts' outburst.

"He's one of the best players on our team, if not the best," he told reporters postgame. "It's a momentum swing when you get to have your full arsenal. ... When you have the guys you're used to having, it definitely helps. I think the guys really dug in for him tonight."

Vasilevskiy said he felt "a little bit better than average" in his first game back before heaping the praise on his teammates.

"The guys played unbelievably in front of me," he said. "Just lots of blocked shots, obviously the goal support. It's just remarkable, couldn't be more perfect for a first game."

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Marc-Andre Fleury chose to wear the mask he had made for Native American Heritage Night on Friday despite the NHL insisting he wasn't allowed to do so.

The Minnesota Wild goaltender - who was dressed as the team's backup for the evening's game against the Colorado Avalanche - said earlier in the day he was upset that the league wasn't going to let him wear the mask.

The custom headgear honors his wife, Veronique Larosee Fleury, who is a member of an Indigenous tribe in Canada.

Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, said pregame that Fleury implied he'd wear the mask regardless of the league's stance and pay a fine as a result. The NHL then threatened to charge the team a "significant additional fine," according to Walsh.

However, sources told The Athletic's Michael Russo neither Fleury nor the Wild are likely to be billed over it.

The veteran netminder told Russo he was most upset about the league's position because the mask also features a quote in French from his late father, Andre, who lost his right eye as a child and often told his son to keep his eye on the puck.

Before the start of this season, the NHL updated its guidelines on theme nights in response to seven players refusing to wear Pride jerseys during warmups in the previous campaign. The league said teams could still hold theme nights, but players wouldn't be allowed to wear anything promoting causes of any kind on the ice.

The rule prohibited anything promoting cancer awareness in addition to the aforementioned initiatives.

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott became the first player to defy the blanket ban when he used Pride tape on his stick during a game against the Anaheim Ducks in October.

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, the league announced Friday.

Girard hasn't played since Saturday and will be away from the team for an indefinite period.

"I have made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse," Girard said through his agency.

"Taking care of your mental health is of the utmost importance, and I encourage everyone to speak up and seek help should you feel like you need it. I want to express my gratitude to my wife, family, friends, the club, my teammates, and the fans for their patience, understanding, and continued support."

The 25-year-old has tallied a goal and three assists in 15 games this season while averaging 20:37 per contest. He posted a career-high 37 points in 2022-23.

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A newsy game day for the Canucks as Andrei Kuzmenko gets scratched for the Kraken. Matt and Blake debate that decision by the coach, and what the changed lines will do for the Canucks as they try to avoid 4 straight losses to Seattle. 

Kevin Woodley from InGoal Magazine stops by to give his take on the first 20 games, and whether the defence can continue to make life reasonable for the Canucks goalies, especially with the injuries. Also, Kevin talks about the challenges of keeping Thatcher Demko fresh if the team results start to falter. 

The Daily Hive’s Rob Williams closes the file on the Royal visit to Rogers Arena, and reveals that even with the recent stumbles, the Canucks are still on an historic start to the season. All that, plus your takes too, with another edition of “To the People We Go”! Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are about to get their No. 1 netminder back.

Andrei Vasilevskiy will make his season debut when the Bolts take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, head coach Jon Cooper announced, according to Bally Sports Florida's Gabby Shirley.

"He hasn't played an NHL game since April so I know he is eager," Cooper said. "There is a ton of work that has gone in to get him to this spot.

"He could not have been more careful with everything that has gone into his preparation and, in total Andrei Vasilevskiy style, he has worked his tail off and this was the date circled on the calendar months ago. We hit the target date and he is ready so I am pretty excited to have him back and I know the guys are for sure."

Vasilevskiy underwent back surgery in late September to address a lumbar disc herniation and was expected to miss approximately the first two months of the campaign.

The Lightning stayed afloat without their star goaltender and sat in third place (fifth in terms of points percentage) of the Atlantic Division with a 9-6-5 record prior to Friday's slate. Jonas Johansson took on the bulk of the starting duties, with Matt Tomkins mainly providing aid on back-to-backs.

As of Thursday, Tampa Bay tied the Calgary Flames for the league's seventh-worst save percentage (.888) at all strengths, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Lightning forward Brandon Hagel gave Johansson credit for helping stabilize the squad's crease.

"At the end of the day, (Johansson) did a hell of a job to put us in a playoff spot," he said, per team beat reporter Chris Krenn. "It was a tough situation for him coming to a new team, not a ton of experience, but the way he played was incredible. He helped this team so much."

Vasilevskiy's return provides a huge boost to the Lightning's mission to prove that they're not afterthoughts in a competitive Eastern Conference. The 29-year-old helped propel the Bolts to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 - he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP the second time around - and he took home the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie in 2019.

The Russian's 263 wins in 425 regular-season games are the sixth most out of all active goalies, while his 65 victories in 110 playoff matchups are the second most, trailing only Marc-Andre Fleury.

A workhorse through and through, Vasilevskiy started every postseason game for the Bolts in each of the last five campaigns. During the Lightning's two Cup runs, he registered a dazzling .932 save percentage and 1.90 goals against average.

Vasilevskiy appeared in 60 games for a second straight season in 2022-23, posting a 34-22-4 record to go along with a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals against average.

The Lightning cleared the way for Vasilevskiy's return by placing Tomkins on waivers Thursday.

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Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness will be behind the bench for Friday's clash against the Florida Panthers following a month-long leave from the team after his wife, Judy, was hospitalized by a seizure.

Bowness told media that Judy is doing "as well as we could expect" in her recovery.

The 68-year-old bench boss is in his second year with the Jets and holds a 57-38-5 record with the team.

Winnipeg associate coach Scott Arniel took the reins during Bowness' absence. He guided the Jets to a 9-2-2 record as interim coach, including seven wins in their last eight games.

"The staff did a great job, the players are playing their hearts out," Bowness said.

The hot streak has propelled the Jets to third in the Central Division, only two points back of the first-place Dallas Stars.

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