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Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov and Top Highlights from March 5

Joe Tansey

Two of the best scorers in the NHL stole the spotlight during a wild Tuesday night of action across North America.

Six of the 10 games played Tuesday night went to either overtime or a shootout, while three other contests were decided by two goals or fewer.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, who now sit at 106 points, had the largest margin of victory of Tuesday's slate, as they downed a playoff contender from the Western Conference.

In the Lightning's win over the Winnipeg Jets, Nikita Kucherov tied the franchise's single-season points record.

In one of the overtime affairs, Sidney Crosby became the second Pittsburgh Penguins player to reach the 1,200-point mark in his career.

                                 

Tuesday's NHL Scores

Boston 4, Carolina 3 (Final/OT) 

Columbus 2, New Jersey 1 (Final/Shootout)

New York Islanders 5, Ottawa 4 (Final/Shootout)

Pittsburgh 3, Florida 2 (Final/OT) 

Tampa Bay 5, Winnipeg 2

Nashville 5, Minnesota 4 (Final/Shootout)

Dallas 1, New York Rangers 0

Colorado 4, Detroit 3 (Final/OT) 

Anaheim 3, Arizona 1

Montreal 3, Los Angeles 1

                          

Crosby Earns 1,200th Point

                       

Lightning's Incredible Passing Finishes Off Win 

                        

Krejci's OT Winner Continues Boston's Excellent Run of Form

                      

Guentzel Wins Game for Penguins in OT 

                            

Columbus Wins in Penalties

                    

Johansen's Crafty Stick Work Earns Shootout Win for Nashville

                   

MacKinnon's Game-Winning Goal for Colorado

                 

Greiss' Spectacular Penalty Save

                           

Barrie's Blast from the Point

                    

Slick Passing from Red Wings

                             

Crosby Earns 1,200th Point in Pittsburgh's Win Over Florida

Crosby earned the 1,200th point of his career on Pittsburgh's first goal of its 3-2 win on an assist to Jake Guentzel. 

With the assist, Crosby became the latest player to reach the 1,200-point mark, and by doing so, Pittsburgh became the fourth franchise to have two players hit that total, per the team's official Twitter account: 

Crosby also assisted on the game-winning goal scored by Guentzel in overtime, and he detailed what he saw on the play after the win, per the team's official insider Twitter account:

Although Crosby's milestone was celebrated by himself and his teammates, he wanted to focus more on another achievement after the victory.

Instead of answering a question about his 1,200th point, Crosby opted to heap praise on Matt Cullen, who played in his 1,500th game Tuesday, per the team's official insider Twitter account:

The victory was huge for the Penguins in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, as they enter Wednesday tied with the Montreal Canadiens on 79 points.

The slightest slip-up down the stretch could cost Pittsburgh, as Columbus sits two points behind the Penguins and Canadiens as the first team out of the playoffs at the moment.

                                  

Kucherov Ties Lightning's Single-Season Points Record

Kucherov's remarkable season continued for the Lightning on Tuesday, as he tied Vincent Lecavalier for the most points in a single season in franchise history, per the team's official Twitter account: 

Kucherov, who leads the NHL with 108 points and 77 assists, reached the milestone on the Lightning's final goal of their 5-2 win, which was scored by Brayden Point.

The 25-year-old told reporters after the win that he's pleased with the way he's playing, per Fox Sports Florida.

"I'm trying to work on my game every day and see what happens, but obviously it's good, I like it," Kucherov said.

Kucherov also said he enjoys the late-season tests such as the one the Lightning received from the Jets in order to prepare for the postseason, per the team's official Twitter account:

The Lightning are 17 points ahead of their closest competition for the Presidents' Trophy, and with 15 regular-season games left, they should secure the hardware sooner rather than later. 

                            

Wednesday's NHL Schedule

Washington at Philadelphia (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) 

Toronto at Vancouver (9 p.m. ET) 

St. Louis at Anaheim (10 p.m. ET, NBCSN) 

Calgary at Vegas (10:30 p.m. ET) 

                          

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

   

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