The Tampa Bay Lightning (28-15-4) fell to the Minnesota Wild (21-20-6) 3-2 on Thursday night in Minnesota.
Zach Parise got the scoring started for Minnesota, coming through on the power play at the 14:17 mark to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. After Nikita Kucherov scored to tie the game at the 7:42 mark of the second period, the Wild got two more goals in the frame. Joel Eriksson Elk scored at the 12:32 mark and Ryan Suter scored at the 14:43 mark to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Though Nikita Kucherov scored a power play goal at the 9:32 mark of the third period to pull within 3-2, that was as close as the Lightning would get.
Curtis McElhinney took the loss in net going 20-for-23, while Alex Stalock got the win net for Minnesota converting 18 saves on 20 opportunities.
The Lightning play their last game before the All Star Break on Friday night in Winnipeg as they battle the Jets. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 PM - pregame coverage begins at 7 PM on News Radio WFLA.