The top two teams in the Atlantic Division had tough tasks on Monday night, but both came away on top to maintain their position in the Eastern Conference. First, the Tampa Bay Lightning were once again led by Nikita Kucherov, who had five points in a 5-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kucherov had two goals and three assists to power the Lightning to their sixth straight victory. With his three assists, the team's top point-getter also set a Lightning record for assists in a season with 70, all while tying his season-high for points in a game this season. He also recorded five points on December 22nd against the Edmonton Oilers with a goal and four assists. He now leads the NHL with 99 points, getting there with 29 goals and 70 assists thus far.
His 70 assists passed Martin St. Louis for the Lightning record, which was 68 from the 2010-2011 season. Brad Richards also held that record with 78 of his own in the 2005-2006 campaign. Kucherov also extended his multipoint streak to five games in a row, as he has seven goals and 11 assists in that span. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 39 saves on the night, and fell 1:51 short of tying a Lightning record with his third straight shutout, but Lukas Sedlak scored to ruin that. The win for Tampa Bay was their 45th of the season, as they now sit 16 points ahead of the second-place Boston Bruins.
Despite that, the Bruins are on fire as of late, and are just as much a threat in the Eastern Conference as anyone. They proved that on Monday night when Charlie McAvoy scored with 1:01 left in overtime to give the Bruins a 6-5 win over the San Jose Sharks. The Bruins have also now won six consecutive games, as they rallied late, with Chris Wagner tying the game with 1:49 left in the third period. The Bruins also extended their point streak to 11 games, where they have gone 10-0-1 in that span. That run now has them three points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic.
Tuukka Rask made 33 saves on the night, but the one guy he could not stop was Joe Thornton, who recorded a hat trick in the Sharks' loss at the SAP Center. Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, who trail the Calgary Flames by just one point for the first place spot in the Pacific Division. Thornton's hat trick was the fifth of his NHL career, and his first since October 27th, 2010 against the New Jersey Devils. It was just the 15th time in NHL history that a player 39 years or older had a hat trick.
His 70 assists passed Martin St. Louis for the Lightning record, which was 68 from the 2010-2011 season. Brad Richards also held that record with 78 of his own in the 2005-2006 campaign. Kucherov also extended his multipoint streak to five games in a row, as he has seven goals and 11 assists in that span. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 39 saves on the night, and fell 1:51 short of tying a Lightning record with his third straight shutout, but Lukas Sedlak scored to ruin that. The win for Tampa Bay was their 45th of the season, as they now sit 16 points ahead of the second-place Boston Bruins.
Despite that, the Bruins are on fire as of late, and are just as much a threat in the Eastern Conference as anyone. They proved that on Monday night when Charlie McAvoy scored with 1:01 left in overtime to give the Bruins a 6-5 win over the San Jose Sharks. The Bruins have also now won six consecutive games, as they rallied late, with Chris Wagner tying the game with 1:49 left in the third period. The Bruins also extended their point streak to 11 games, where they have gone 10-0-1 in that span. That run now has them three points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic.
Tuukka Rask made 33 saves on the night, but the one guy he could not stop was Joe Thornton, who recorded a hat trick in the Sharks' loss at the SAP Center. Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, who trail the Calgary Flames by just one point for the first place spot in the Pacific Division. Thornton's hat trick was the fifth of his NHL career, and his first since October 27th, 2010 against the New Jersey Devils. It was just the 15th time in NHL history that a player 39 years or older had a hat trick.
