RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning needed some changes.

Using altered line combinations turned out well for the Lightning, with a change in fortunes in a rare offensive outburst that carried the team to a 4-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at PNC Arena.

"Sometimes it's a fresh start you need," said Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos. "When things aren't going well, sometimes it's just a little change."

Stamkos, right winger Ryan Callahan, right winger J.T. Brown and center Tyler Johnson scored for the Lightning, who snapped a four-game winless streak.

"We're switching things up, not to read anything into it, but we needed to change and mix some things up," Brown said.

Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who joined the Lightning for the first time this season after September surgery for a blood clot, made 32 saves in his first NHL appearance of the season.

Carolina goalie Cam Ward stopped 27 shots, but the Hurricanes' three-game winning streak ended. Ward has been the winning goalie in four of the team's five victories.

"For part of the game, we played the way we wanted to," Carolina right winger Kris Versteeg said.

Center Eric Staal, Versteeg and center Jordan Staal scored for the Hurricanes, who've lost three of four home games this season.

It was an offensive spree for the Lightning, who had a total of two goals in the previous four games. Johnson posted his first goal in 13 games this season to cap the Tampa Bay scoring about midway through the third period.

"It was good for us, good to see," left winger Ondrej Palat said of Johnson's goal. "Everybody wants to score. He was working hard."

Tampa Bay avoided its first five-game losing streak since March 2014.

The Lightning built a 4-1 margin with two third-period goals, the first coming on Brown's backhander that struck the post and bounced in 4:07 into the third period.

Versteeg's goal with 4:35 remaining gave the Hurricanes a chance, but that was all they could muster until 0.01 second remained for Jordan Staal's first goal of the season while Carolina went with an extra skater.

By having Vasilevskiy back in the mix it provides the Lightning some options and help for first-string goaltender Ben Bishop, who played 11 of the team's first 12 games.

"I think he was unreal," Palat said of Vasilevaskiy. "He had some fantastic saves. It's just too bad they got that last one."

The Hurricanes kept him busy in the third period by putting up 18 shots.

Tampa Bay right winger Nikita Kucherov had two assists.

Center Victor Rask assisted on all three Carolina goals.

Tampa Bay led 2-1 going to the third period after Stamkos scored on a power-play goal with 1:06 left in the second period.

His blast from inside the blue line gave him his team-leading sixth goal of the season.

By then, Carolina coach Bill Peters didn't like the direction of the game.

"I thought they really upped the ante after 20 minutes and that's what desperate teams do," Peters said.

The period also began well for Tampa Bay, with Callahan scoring 38 seconds in.

For both Stamkos and Callahan, those were their first goals in six games.

"We were too loose with the puck which led to penalties which led to momentum (for the Lightning)," Peters said.

The Hurricanes opened the scoring in the first period on center Eric Staal's power-play tally. He was parked in ideal position near the net and converted courtesy of right winger Kris Versteeg's team-best seventh assist.

Staal has scored in two of the last four games.

NOTES: C Elias Lindholm was in the lineup for Carolina despite leaving Friday night's game against Colorado with a lower-body injury. ... LW Tye McGinn made his Lightning debut after eight games with the team's AHL affiliate in Syracuse. He played against younger brother LW Brock McGinn of the Hurricanes for the first time as professionals. ... Hurricanes D Justin Faulk leads all NHL defensemen with four power-play goals. Those are his only goals. ... The Lightning played the first of four consecutive road games, with the next stop Tuesday night at Detroit. ... This was the first of nine home games in November for the Hurricanes, who next play Friday night at home against Dallas.