Nikita Kucherov, Darren Raddysh carry the Lightning past the Sharks, 7–3

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Tampa Bay Lightning center Dominic James (17), middle left, celebrates after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Thien-An Truong)

A fight breaks out between the Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Thien-An Truong) — Tampa Bay Lightning center Dominic James (17), middle left, celebrates after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Thien-An Truong)

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7:06 PM on Saturday, January 3

By HADDY BARGHOUTI

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored his 20th goal of the season on a second-period power play and added four assists, Darren Raddysh had a hat trick and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the San Jose Sharks 7–3 on Saturday.

Brayden Point, Dominic James and Brandon Hagel also scored for Tampa Bay, and Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jake Guentzel each had two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots.

The Lightning raced to a three-goal lead in the first seven minutes. Point opened the scoring at 2:37, Raddysh followed at 4:08, and Hagel scored his 19th goal of the season on a power play at 6:46 to chase goalie Yaroslav Askarov.

Pavol Regenda had a hat trick for the Sharks, and Timothy Liljegren and Jeff Skinner each had two assists. Macklin Celebrini added an assist to extend his points streak to 10 games. Askarov made seven saves. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 12 shots in relief.

Up next

Lightning: Host Colorado on Tuesday night.

Sharks: Host Columbus on Tuesday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl