LIGHTNING 3, SABRES 2:

Nikita Kucherov got the Tampa Bay Lightning off to a fast start in Sweden. Kucherov scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves to help Tampa Bay beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Friday night in the first of their two regular-season games in the Swedish capital. The sold-out games at Ericsson Globe are part of the NHL Global Series. Alex Killorn and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. Sam Reinhart twice scored for Buffalo. The Sabres have lost four straight. Kucherov opened the scoring at 3:19 of the first period. Brayden Point and Kevin Shattenkirk set up the play for Kucherov to sweep in on a one-timer. The reigning NHL MVP has five goals and seven assists this season. He had He had 41 goals and 128 points last season. “That’s a world-class finish,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “Great play. Great for Shatty to recognize that and wrap that around. I’ll have to see, but I don’t know if that puck hit the ice. Not a lot of guys can do that, but he’s one of them. I thought he had a great game after that.” Shattenkirk has three assists in last two games. “Their decision was it was a fair hit,” Buffalo coach Ralph Krueger said. “We need to move on whether we like it or not.” Krueger said Sobotka was “definitely” out Saturday. “I think the both teams understand the competitiveness of our division and this first challenge between us is worth more than just two points and that’s why you had that intensity tonight. The Lightning, last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners, improved to 7-5-2 amid a slow start to the season. “We made smart decisions with the puck,” Cooper said. “And when you do that you limit odd-man rushes, which I thought we did tonight.” Killorn scored on a power play with 3:46 remaining in the period, tipping home favorite Victor Hedman’s slap shot from the blue line past goalie Linus Ullmark. Hedman, the only Swede on the Tampa Bay team, recovered from a lower-body injury in time to play.