Devils drop sixth straight

LIGHTNING 5 DEVILS 1

Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point like playing on the same line, and it’s a combination that’s working out well for the Lightning, too.

Kucherov notched a goal and three assists for his first four-point game, Point add- ed a goal and two assists, and the Lightning beat the struggling Devils, 5-1, Monday night in Newark.

Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde also scored to help the Lightning become the first team in the league to reach 20 wins this season. Ryan McDonagh collected two assists and Louis Domingue stopped 26 shots as Tampa Bay got its third straight win and sixth in seven games.

Egor Yakovlev scored his first career goal for the Devils, who have lost six straight and eight of nine. Keith Kinkaid started and gave up four goals on 20 shots before he was pulled after two periods. Cory Schneider had five saves in the third. “You have to give them credit,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “They are a heck of a hockey team. They just outworked us. Sometimes, it becomes a slippery slope. We didn’t play well enough to win the game.”

The Devils, who lost in regulation at home for only the second time this season, seemed to have the better of the early play, outshooting the Lightning 7-1 over the first 10 minutes, but it didn’t take long for the league’s top offensive team to get going.

Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep in the season series with the Devils, outscoring them 18-6.