Alex Killorn had a power-play goal and scored into an empty net, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7-4 on Tuesday night to clinch a playoff berth for the fourth straight season.

Brayden Point stuffed in his team-leading 21st goal and added two assists. Erik Cernak, Yanni Gourde, Alex Barre-Boulet, and Blake Coleman also scored for defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay, which kept pace with first-place Carolina and second-place Florida at the top of the tight Central Division.

The Lightning scored three straight goals in the second period to put this one away against sloppy Chicago. Tampa Bay finished 7-0-1 against the Blackhawks in the pandemic-shortened season.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves to earn his league-leading 29th win, despite allowing a couple of soft goals early. Point has four goals and six assists in six games.

Brandon Hagel, Dominik Kubalik, Wyatt Kalynuk and Duncan Keith had goals for the fading Blackhawks, who remained seven points behind Nashville in the race for fourth place, and the final playoff spot, in the Central Division with seven games left.

Kevin Lankinen yielded three goals on 11 shots in a first period filled with sloppy play and ugly goals at both ends, and was replaced by Malcolm Subban to start the second. The switch by Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton didn't energize his team, and Subban allowed four goals on 19 shots the rest of the way.

The Blackhawks host Florida on Thursday in the first of a two-game series.