Steven Stamkos and Lightning ‘a different team’ with same strong start this season

Steven Stamkos scored his 500th career point on Monday night and the Tampa Bay Lightning dismissed the Boston Bruins 6-3 as they're charging hard yet again to start the year.

Tampa Bay Lightning players celebrate after a goal in their NHL win over the Philadelphia Flyers last week. Chris O'Meara / AP / October 8, 2015

Loaded with post-season experience on a roster that’s nearly identical to last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are off to another strong start.

Steven Stamkos scored his 500th career point with a tiebreaking power-play goal that sent Tampa Bay to a 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday afternoon.

Brian Boyle scored two goals, and Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin and Valtteri Filppula added goals for the Lightning. Ben Bishop stopped 27 shots.

It was the first win in Boston since March 25, 2010, for the defending Eastern Conference champions Tampa Bay, snapping a 10-game losing streak in TD Garden.

“It could have easily been a ‘Here we go again’ moment with the way we’ve struggled in this building,” Stamkos said. “This is a different team. A different team from last year with a lot of experience.”

Last season, the Lightning started 11-3-1 under coach Jon Cooper. In the season before they were 14-5-0.

On Monday, they dug out of an early 2-0 hole, taking advantage of Boston’s struggling young defence with a high-powered offence.

“With our team, we can score goals. When we’re down one or two I’m not really worried,” Bishop said. “We kind of know what it’s all about. We’ve got pretty much the same team that we did last year. We’ve got one new guy.”

Loui Eriksson had two power-play goals, and David Krejci also had one for Boston, who opened a season with three straight losses for the first time since 1999.

The Bruins have been outscored 16-7 in their first three games – all at home.

“It doesn’t matter what the situation is. We’ve got to be better defensively from the goaltender on out; defence and the forwards coming back, we’ve got to be better,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “It used to be our strength. Now it’s our weakness.”

Tuukka Rask made 17 saves for the Bruins.

Boston captain Zdeno Chara played his first game after missing most of the pre-season with an undisclosed upper body injury.

“We need to get better,” Chara said. “I think overall we have to improve every aspect of our game.”

Stamkos fired a slap shot from the top of the right circle for the milestone point that broke a 3-3 tie at 15:17 of the second period. Drouin and Filppula scored in the third.

Boyle stole the puck from winger David Pastrnak near centre ice at the end of a Bruins’ power play, broke in alone on Rask and slipped a backhand between his pads, making it 3-2 just under five minutes into the second.

Boston tied it with their third power-play goal when Krejci’s shot from the point caromed into the net off Eriksson.

Trailing 2-0, the Lightning scored twice in just over a minute late in the opening period.

Boyle beat Rask with a wrister over his left shoulder at 15:42.

With Patrice Bergeron off for goaltender interference, Palat redirected a shot between Rask’s pads from the edge of the crease.

The Bruins had opened a 2-0 lead midway into the first.

Eighteen seconds after Matthew Carle was whistled for hooking, Krejci one-timed a shot past Bishop. Eriksson banged in Torey Krug’s pass from the edge of the crease, making it 2-0 at 11:02.

Elsewhere in the NHL

New York Islanders 4, Winnipeg Jets 2

John Tavares had a power-play goal and added two assists, and Thomas Greiss made 22 saves as New York beat Winnipeg for their first victory in their new Brooklyn home.

The Islanders came out with purpose after losing their opening two games to the defending champions Chicago Blackhawks, one in overtime at home and the other in regulation away.

The Islanders outshot the Jets 16-6 in the opening period and had a 20-9 shots advantage in the second. Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec made a number of key saves in the first as the Islanders had four power-play chances.

Ryan Strome banged in a rebound with a man advantage at 19:48 of the first, giving the Brooklyn matinee crowd a chance to launch the standard “Yes! Yes! Yes!” chant. Tavares and Kyle Okposo assisted on Strome’s first of the season.

Vancouver Canucks 2, Anaheim Ducks 1, SO

Radim Vrbata and Alex Burrows scored in the shootout as Vancouver spoiled Anaheim’s home opener.

Ryan Miller made 28 saves and Adam Cracknell scored in regulation for Vancouver, who beat the Ducks for just the third time in their last 12 meetings.

Sami Vatanen scored and Frederik Andersen stopped 24 shots for the Ducks, who are winless in the first two games of the season.

After the Ducks failed to score on a power play during their first taste of 3-on-3 overtime hockey, Vrbata and Burrows got stuttering, halting shots past Andersen, who stopped Burrows’ shot before watching it trickle under him.

Philadelphia Flyers 1, Florida Panthers 0

Michael Neuvirth stopped 31 shots for his first shutout in more than three and a half years, leading Philadelphia past Florida.

Brayden Schenn scored to help the Flyers win for the first time in three games this season.

Neuvirth replaced Steve Mason after Florida scored four goals in a 7-1 victory Saturday night. Mason left the team Monday because of unspecified personal reasons, giving Neuvirth the chance to shut down the Panthers from the opening faceoff. He had his first shutout since March 11, 2012, against Toronto.

Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol won for the first time in the NHL after spending 11 seasons coaching North Dakota. The college-to-pros move in the NHL is a rare one. Hakstol was the first to make the jump since Bob Johnson went from Wisconsin to the Calgary Flames in 1982.

Buffalo Sabres 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 2

Rookie star Jack Eichel scored a hustling unassisted goal as Buffalo beat Columbus to give coach Dan Bylsma his first victory with the Sabres.

Eichel, the former Boston University player selected No 2 overall in the June draft, bodied off Boone Jenner in a loose-puck battle, kept the puck in the offensive zone, wheeled to his forehand and ripped a shot over goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to give Buffalo a 3-1 lead at 9:21 of the third period. Eichel has two goals this season.

Rasmus Ristolainen, Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Moulson had power-play goals for Buffalo. Moulson added two assists, and Chad Johnson made 21 saves to help Buffalo rebound after losing its first two games of the season.

Scott Hartnell and Brandon Saad scored for Columbus, and Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots. The Blue Jackets are 0-3.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE