RALEIGH, N.C. -- Ben Bishop was up to the task when the Tampa Bay Lightning needed him Sunday night.

Coach Jon Cooper said he didn't think the Carolina Hurricanes had many good scoring chances for a good chunk of the game during Tampa Bay's 4-2 victory at PNC Arena.

Then there was the last two minutes.

"That last two-minute flurry became the Ben Bishop show," Cooper said. "(He) was big for us."

Center Steven Stamkos scored a tiebreaking power-play goal with 5:43 remaining and right winger Ryan Callahan finished with two goals, including an empty-net tally with 9.8 seconds to play.

Stamkos' team-leading 25th goal of the season, which gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead, came four seconds before a high-sticking penalty on Carolina center Jordan Staal expired.

The Hurricanes had failed to score on a power play midway through the third period before the Lightning made good on their winning chance. Stamkos, who has scored in three consecutive games, converted off a pass from center Tyler Johnson from behind the net.

"We needed to get through that kill, obviously," Carolina coach Bill Peters said.

Right winger J.T. Brown also scored for Tampa Bay (33-22-4), which won its third game in a row.

Bishop, playing for the second night in a row, made 29 saves. He made 17 third-period stops, including two saves under pressure in the final 70 seconds when the Hurricanes were using an extra skater.

After the Lightning went up 3-2, Bishop was credited with nine saves the rest of the way. He had two stops on center Jeff Skinner's shots on the same sequence.

"We had some good looks," Peters said. "Bishop made some saves."

The go-ahead goal marked the first power-play goal for the Lightning in five games. Cooper said he pleased with the production from special teams.

"We needed our penalty kill to kill off the penalties. They did," Cooper said. "We needed our power play to win the game for us. They did."

Left winger Joakim Nordstrom and defenseman Michal Jordan scored for Carolina (27-23-10), which won three of its previous four games to bolster its playoff hopes.

Carolina goalie Cam Ward made 14 saves, but his streak of outings without a regulation loss ended at 10 games.

Until this result, the Hurricanes had at least one team point in their previous six home games (5-0-1). That moved the team within range of playoff contention.

"It's a great time of year," Peters said. "We'll recharge a little bit tomorrow."

The Lightning moved into a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division, beating Pittsburgh and Carolina on consecutive days.

"We are collecting some points against teams we are fighting with," Stamkos said of Eastern Conference foes.

Callahan had gone a month and a half without a goal before scoring Tuesday night. Now, he has three goals across a three-game span.

"The confidence is back," he said.

The game was tied at 2-2 through two periods, with the Hurricanes scoring first and last.

Carolina pulled even with 7:01 remaining in the second period on Jordan's first goal of the season. It came on a wrap-around with Bishop unable to slide to that side of the net in time to make a stop.

Jordan had been without a point in his first 20 NHL games this season.

Brown batted in a rebound from in front of the net for Tampa Bay's first goal.

The Lightning went up 2-1 with a second goal in a four-minute span, when Callahan ripped a shot from the right side. The puck zipped past Ward and went just under the cross bar.

The Hurricanes scored first on Nordstrom's short-handed goal, which was set up by a pass from Staal. It marked the second short-handed goal of the season for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes killed off all three penalties through two periods.

NOTES: RW Nikita Kucherov, who leads Tampa Bay with 49 points, missed his first game of the season with a lower-body injury. ... Entering the game, Tampa Bay had won 10 of the previous 12 meetings with the Hurricanes. The teams are former Southeast Division rivals. ... Hurricanes D Justin Faulk went through on-ice warmups but wasn't in the lineup, so he missed his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. ... Hurricanes C Andrej Nestrasil turns 25 years old Monday. ... Fathers of Tampa Bay players were on hand for both games of the weekend trip, which included Saturday's game at Pittsburgh. ... The Lightning plays their only home game during a seven-game stretch Tuesday night against the Arizona Coyotes. ... Carolina is back in action Tuesday night at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.