Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Nikita Kucherov Shines, Bruins Extend Point Streak, Top Highlights from March 9

Joe Tansey

The two best teams in the Atlantic Division found themselves under the NHL spotlight once again Saturday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, who are cruising toward the Presidents' Trophy, experienced a bit of franchise history courtesy of Nikita Kucherov in their victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Meanwhile, in Boston, the Bruins extended their point streak to 19 games in a thrilling 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Five of Saturday's 12 games were decided by one goal, with four of those results being of the 3-2 variety.

In one of those results, the San Jose Sharks moved into the top spot in the Western Conference and became the first team in the West to reach 90 points.

                           

Saturday's NHL Scores

Colorado 3, Buffalo 0

San Jose 3, St. Louis 2 (Final/OT) 

Toronto 3, Edmonton 2

Boston 3, Ottawa 2

Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 2

Philadelphia 5, New York Islanders 2

New York Rangers 4, New Jersey 2

Columbus 4, Pittsburgh 1

Arizona 4, Los Angeles 2

Carolina 5, Nashville 3

Chicago 2, Dallas 1

Vegas 6, Vancouver 2

                          

Kucherov Records 109th Point

                         

Krejci's Game-Winner Extends Boston's Point Streak

 

                   

Sharks Defeat Blues in OT 

                           

Murray's Ridiculous Saves

                      

Tavares' Terrific Stick Work 

                     

Stone Scores 1st Vegas Goal 

                      

Boeser's Deflection in Front of Net

               

Arizona's Short-Handed Success

                      

Rangers Rally from 2 Goals Down 

                             

Kucherov Breaks Lightning's Franchise Points Record

With his first-period goal against the Red Wings, Kucherov broke the Lightning's single-season points record, which was previously held by Vincent Lecavalier, per the team's official Twitter account: 

Kucherov scored his second goal of the game in the third period to move up to 110 points and in the process became the first NHL player to hit 110 points since Henrik Sedin in the 2009-10 season, per NHL Public Relations:

The 25-year-old Russian is the front-runner for Most Valuable Player, as he leads the points standings by 13 over the Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane.

Kucherov is tied for 12th in the NHL in goals with 33, and he leads the league with 77 assists, which is 13 better than the Winnipeg Jets' Blake Wheeler in second place.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper heaped praise on Kucherov for breaking Lecavalier's record, per the team's Twitter account:

Tampa Bay is up to 108 points with 13 games remaining on the schedule. The Lightning's closest competition in the Presidents' Trophy race is Boston, which is 15 points back of Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division as well.

                            

Bruins Continue to Roll

Speaking of the Bruins, they are making their own headlines through a 19-game point streak that was extended by David Krejci's game-winning goal against Ottawa.

Krejci's last-minute goal was the second of its kind in two games for the Bruins, who became the fourth team in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation in successive games, per NHL PR:

Although the Bruins are enjoying their best form of the season, Krejci admitted after Saturday's win that the team is approaching the season game by game, per the team's Twitter account.

"It's a nice number, but [we're] just taking it game-by-game," Krejci said. "We know what we're playing for, and obviously [it's] a good finish from the team. But we have a game to play tomorrow."

The Bruins, who haven't lost a game in regulation since before the NHL All-Star break in January, have an opportunity to extend their streak to 20 games against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

                               

Sunday's NHL Schedule

Detroit at Florida (5 p.m. ET) 

Winnipeg at Washington (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Boston at Pittsburgh (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN)

Vegas at Calgary (9:30 p.m. ET) 

Los Angeles at Anaheim (10 p.m. ET, NBCSN) 

                

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90Statistics obtained from NHL.com.

   

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