TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Point scored two goals, Anthony Cirelli got one and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight home win.
Reigning NHL MVP Nikita Kucherov had two assists in his first home game since asking the Lightning for a trade, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots.
Click to Gallery
Detroit Red Wings center Sheldon Dries (15) skates with the puck against Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning center Conor Geekie (94) checks Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) and center Brayden Point (21) celebrate Point's second goal of the first period during an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Lucas Raymond and J.T. Compher scored Detroit’s goals. The Red Wings pulled their goalie for an extra shooter for the final three minutes and put plenty of pressure on Vasilevskiy but couldn't get the tying goal. Ryan McDonagh slid an empty-netter down the ice with 1 second left.
Point gave the Lightning 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first period. He didn’t quite get everything on his shot in the low slot off Kucherov’s centering pass but it went past goalie John Gibson.
Point snapped a shot over Gibson’s glove 5:07 later to make it 2-0. Kucherov set it up with another perfect pass. Gibson was replaced by Daniil Tarasov to start the second period after stopping 11 of 13 shots in the first.
Cirelli lifted his fifth goal past Tarasov into the top left corner for a 3-0 lead in the second period.
Raymond fired a shot from the left point past Vasilevskiy midway through the second to cut it to 3-1. The Red Wings got within 3-2 less than six minutes into the third when Compher scored a power-play goal, blasting a shot from the right circle underneath Vasilevskiy’s left pad.
Kucherov has five assists in two games since informing the team he wants to be traded. Kucherov said Monday he made the request because he feels disrespected by a lack of communication with general manager Julien BriseBois.
Kucherov is in the final season of an eight-year, $76 million contract signed in 2018 before he helped Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup twice, led the NHL in scoring three times and won the Hart Trophy in 2018-19 and 2025-26.
“It was never about the money for me,” Kucherov said Monday. “More about poor communication and respect. Over the last four months, we only have had two conversations and Julien, in the end, made it clear that I’m free to walk on July 1.”
Red Wings: Host Las Vegas on Thursday night.
Lightning: Host Chicago on Thursday night.
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
Detroit Red Wings center Sheldon Dries (15) skates with the puck against Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning center Conor Geekie (94) checks Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) and center Brayden Point (21) celebrate Point's second goal of the first period during an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrats finally got their wish in Texas.
Shut out of power for decades, Democrats on Tuesday romped up and down the ballot in Republicans' most populous stronghold, flipping a U.S. Senate seat and retaking the governor's mansion in a history-making election that ushered in an overnight resurgence for a party that has spent much of the last 30 years fighting for scraps.
The stunning victories showed how voters, frustrated over high prices and concerned about government corruption, soundly rejected President Donald Trump's party and handed Democrats a decisive foothold in a fast-changing state of nearly 32 million residents that is one of the world's 10 largest economies. The dominant showing included winning back counties along the border with Mexico — where Republicans had been making inroads with Hispanic voters — and flipping congressional seats even though Republicans gerrymandered the map to give them an upper hand.
“This win is for every Texan who has ever wondered if anyone is ever listening,” Democrat James Talarico said after handily winning his Senate race over Republican Ken Paxton, the state's scandal-plagued attorney general.
“I heard you. We heard you. And tonight, the world hears you," Talarico said.
Texas Democrats hadn’t won a statewide campaign since 1994 and now have breakout stars in Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, who ousted Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in a victory that will make her Texas' first Latina governor. They also won the powerful offices of lieutenant governor and attorney general, widening the validation for Democrats’ long deferred dream that demographic changes in the state would be followed by a shift in political power.
On a national level, the loss will set off alarms for Republicans, who depend on winning Texas in presidential election years to maintain a path to the White House. In Florida, outgoing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took stock of the damage.
“Texas has been the most significant Republican state this century. A Democrat sweep of statewide races — and possible capture of the Legislature — takes away one of the anchors of the modern GOP,” DeSantis posted on social media. “A huge loss.”
How Hinojosa governs is likely to open a dramatic political and cultural shift in the Texas Capitol, which over the last decade has passed one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws, increasingly aggressive immigration crackdowns and relaxed gun laws even as Texas was the site of some of the nation's worst mass shootings over the past decade.
Democrats didn't win in Texas with promises to turn back the clock on issues like abortion, guns, transgender rights and diverting public tax money to private education. Instead, they ran on more populist ideas of affordability and railing against artificial intelligence data centers and corruption.
Hinojosa, a state legislator who represents a liberal Austin district and grew up in the Rio Grande Valley along the border with Mexico, distanced herself from the proud progressive brand she carried in the statehouse. She instead batted away culture war issues for populist stances on an economy battered by Trump's tariffs and an unpopular war with Iran.
“The voter have delivered a mandate for change, and it is change they will get,” Hinojosa said. “We will lead with politics of courage, not convenience. Progress will not be halted by partisanship and Texas will bow to no one.”
Democrats got a huge swing in votes in border counties that had shifted strongly, and surprisingly, to Trump two years ago. Gains that Republicans had made with conservative Hispanic voters largely disappeared Tuesday.
The AP Voter Poll, an expansive survey of more than 5,000 Texas Senate voters, found that Talarico built a diverse coalition — winning most young voters and Hispanic voters in the state. This year, about three-quarters of voters under 30 voted for Talarico, as did roughly 6 in 10 Hispanic voters.
Just two years ago, Trump had won Texas by double digits.
“Going into 2028, the Republican Party of Texas has serious work to do to begin the process of taking our state back from Democrat control," said Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who also lost Tuesday.
Outside of Austin, Karen Sites, a 63-year-old registered dietitian and her daughter Sofia, 21, both voted for Democrats in the suburb of Dripping Springs. Both had gone to the polls saying they were holding their breath after previous proclamations by Democrats that they would retake Texas never came to fruition.
Sofia has a transgender sibling and said Talarico’s support of transgender and LGBTQ+ rights was something that drew both of them to his campaign. She said she was also frustrated with Republicans’ policies on data centers and protecting biodiversity.
“I’m hopeful,” she said.
Democratic Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico greets supporters as he departs after speaking at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Attendees become emotional at an election night event for Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Democratic Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico speaks at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, left, speaks to supporters at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Attendees cheer at an election night event for Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
