TAMPA, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov became the second player in the NHL to reach 100 points this season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning took a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division by beating the Buffalo Sabres 7-5 Friday night.
Kucherov scored in the first period and got his 100th point assisting on Dan Girardi’s goal 1:04 into the second that gave Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead.
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid tops the league with 106 points. According to the NHL, this is the first season since 2009-10 with multiple 100-point players.
Tampa Bay can wrap up the division title and the Eastern Conference’s best record with a win in its season finale Saturday night at Carolina, or a loss by second-place Boston in either of its final two games. The Bruins are home Saturday against Ottawa and Sunday against Florida.
The Lightning played their second consecutive game without center Steven Stamkos, who is expected to be back for the playoffs.
PENGUINS 4, SENATORS 0: Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel banked in goals off Craig Anderson minutes apart in the second period, Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots and host Pittsburgh clinched second place in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
NOTES
COYOTES: Arizona re-signed goaltender Antti Raanta to a three-year deal.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.