TAMPA
Mike
Hoffman Jersey Womens , Fla. (AP) ¡ª It was another memorable night for
Nikita Kucherov, Vinny Lecavalier and the Tampa Bay Lightning.Kucherov scored
twice while breaking Tampa Bay¡¯s single-season record for points, leading the
Lightning to a 3-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.Ryan
McDonagh also scored for NHL-leading Tampa Bay, which has won 14 consecutive
regular-season games against Detroit. Louis Domingue stopped 22 shots in his
20th victory of the season.Thomas Vanek and Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit,
which fell to 1-6-3 in the past 10 games. Jonathan Bernier finished with 30
saves.¡°We didn¡¯t rise to the occasion tonight, not even close,¡± Detroit coach
Jeff Blashill said. ¡°Too many guys weren¡¯t skating.¡±Kucherov, one of the
front-runners for the NHL MVP award, has 110 points through 69 games. Lecavalier
held the previous franchise record, finishing with 108 points when he had 52
goals and 56 assists during the 2006-07 season.The record-setting point came on
Kucherov¡¯s 32nd goal. He was alone at the top of the crease when he got a pass
from Brayden Point and flipped the puck over Bernier at 11:56 of the first
period.¡°It¡¯s special for me and my family, definitely,¡± Kucherov said. ¡°I don¡¯t
think many people believed in me and I¡¯m just trying to keep proving them wrong.
I¡¯m happy for myself and thanks to all the guys for helping me out. Without them
I wouldn¡¯t have this much success.¡±Said Lecavalier in a statement: ¡°Kuch is an
unbelievable player. He is so dominant and talented that it is no wonder he
broke my Lightning record for most points in a season. I¡¯d like to personally
congratulate Nikita for the accomplishment.¡±The Lightning became the first team
this season to clinch a playoff berth after Montreal lost to Anaheim late
Friday. It marked the second quickest in terms of games (68) needed to clinch a
playoff spot since 2005-06.But Tampa Bay feels as if there is plenty to
accomplish in the final few weeks of the season.¡°We¡¯ve talked about this a lot,
to have consistency in our game,¡± coach Jon Cooper said. ¡°I thought tonight ¡ we
really didn¡¯t give them much. I really liked the way we played from start to
finish.¡±McDonagh also scored in the first on a wrist shot from the center point,
helping Tampa Bay build a 2-0 lead.The two-goal advantage held up until late in
the second period when Vanek deflected a Niklas Kronwall pass past Domingue for
a power-play goal with 3.1 seconds left.Kucherov also scored on a one-timer from
the right circle 13:53 into the third for his 33rd multipoint game of the
season. Mantha got one back for Detroit with 56 seconds left, but Tampa Bay held
on.¡°It¡¯s really frustrating,¡± Mantha said of the losing streak to the Lightning.
¡°I mean it (stinks) that we can¡¯t win against these guys. I don¡¯t know what it
is. I mean (Bernier) played an unbelievable game tonight. He probably saved four
or five goals against and we couldn¡¯t build anything offensively.¡±NOTES: D Jan
Rutta made his Lightning debut after he was called up on an emergency basis on
Friday. ¡ The Lightning were without D Dan Girardi (lower body), LW Adam Erne
(upper body) and D Anton Stralman (lower body), who are all listed as day to
day. ¡ Detroit C Dylan Larkin missed his third consecutive game with a neck
injury. ¡ Domingue made his first start on home ice since Dec. 10. ¡ Detroit¡¯s
last regular-season victory against Tampa Bay came on Nov. 3, 2015. ¡ Mantha has
three goals and nine points in his past eight games. ¡ Bernier fell to 0-4-3 in
his past seven decisions.UP NEXTLightning: At Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.Red
Wings: At Florida Panthers on Sunday. There is a competitive aspect to the NHL
All-Star Game that makes for an entertaining and thrilling exhibition of
hockey.The league has taken the exciting three-on-three aspect of regular-season
overtime hockey and used it as the basis of the All-Star Game, which will be
played Saturday night in San Jose, California. The three-on-three tournament
between the All-Stars from the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific
Divisions gets underway at 8 p.m. ET, and it will be televised by NBC.The
broadcast marks the first time the NHL All-Star Game returns to prime-time
network televisionsince 1997.The game will also be live streamed at
NBCSports.com.The tournament consists of two 20-minute semifinal games. The
Atlantic Division All-Stars will meet their Metropolitan Division counterparts,
and the Central Division All-Stars will square off against the Pacific Division
representatives.The two winners will meet in another 20-minute championship
game.Each team has a roster that includes nine skaters and two goalies. The
Atlantic and Central teams have seven forwards and two defensemen, while the
Metropolitan and Pacific teams have six forwards and three defensemen.Similar to
the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, all teams have at least one
representative. Atlantic DivisionAll-Star appearances presented
parenthetically.F Jack Eichel, BUF (second)F Nikita
Kucherov
Peter
Budaj Jersey Womens , TBL (third)F Auston Matthews, TOR (third)F Jeff
Skinner, BUF (second)F David Pastrnak, BOS (first)F Steven Stamkos, TBL (sixth)F
John Tavares, TOR (sixth)D Thomas Chabot, OTT (first)D Keith Yandle, FLA
(third)G Jimmy Howard, DET (second)G Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (second)The
Atlantic Division team is led by the league's leading scorer in Nikita Kucherov,
who comes into the All-Star break with with 22 goals and 56 assists. His sleight
of hand with the puck allows him to make some amazing passes, and he should have
an excellent chance to show off his skills.Tampa Bay Lightning teammate Steven
Stamkos has powered home 26 goals and 31 assists, and he has one of the hardest
shots in the NHL. David Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 27 goals and 29 assists,
and he has an opportunity to create a number of highlight-reel plays with his
speed and quick release.The Toronto Maple Leafs are represented by Auston
Matthews and John Tavares, while Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner are both
representing the Buffalo Sabres.Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning and the
Detroit Red Wings' Jimmy Howard will share the goaltending assignment, while
Thomas Chabot of the Ottawa Senators and Keith Yandle of the Florida Panthers
will play defense for the Atlantic Division.The Tampa Bay stars may give this
division a chance, but the Chabot-Yandle blue-line combination may not measure
up to the those on the three other rosters.Metropolitan DivisionF Sebastian Aho,
CAR (first)F Cam Atkinson, CBJ (second)F Mathew Barzal, NYI (first)F Sidney
Crosby, PIT (fourth)F Claude Giroux, PHI (sixth)F Kyle Palmieri, NJD (first)D
John Carlson, WSH (first)D Seth Jones, CBJ (second)D Kris Letang, PIT (fifth)G
Braden Holtby, WSH (fourth)G Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (fifth)The Metropolitan
All-Star team would include league-leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, but the
37-goal scorer pulled out. The Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals have
lost seven games in a row coming into the All-Star
break
Andrew
Hammond Jersey Womens , and the team has looked fatigued in recent games.
Captain Ovechkin may need the rest, and he will also have to sit out the Caps'
first game after the break as a result of his choice.Washington goalie Braden
Holtby and defenseman John Carlson are both participating. Holtby has a 17-12-3
record with a surprisingly high 3.11 goals-against average and a .905 save
percentage. Carlson is one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, and
he has eight goals and 39 assists.Longtime New York Rangers goalie Henrik
Lundqvist will play in his fifth All-Star game. Lundqvist has a 15-12-7 record
with a 3.01 GAA and a .908 save percentage.Sidney Crosby is likely to take on a
key role, as he has long been considered the best player in the league. That
title is under threat from Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, but Crosby has
scored 21 goals and 36 assists this term. Crosby will be joined by Pittsburgh
Penguins teammate Kris Letang, who will play on the blue line.Mathew Barzal of
the New York Islanders has 14 goals and 31 assists, and he has taken over as
that team's big-play maker since Tavares left the team as a free agent for the
Maple Leafs last summer.Cam Atkinson has scored 27 goals and 21 assists for the
Columbus Blue Jackets, while defenseman Seth Jones gets his second opportunity
to play in the All-Star Game. He has seven goals and 22 assists this season.The
Metropolitan team may not have the firepower to compare with the other All-Star
teams. Central DivisionF Patrick Kane, CHI (eighth)F Nathan MacKinnon, COL
(third)F Ryan O'Reilly, STL (second)F Mikko Rantanen, COL (first)F Mark
Scheifele, WPG (first)F Blake Wheeler, WPG (second)F Gabriel Landeskog, COL
(first)D Miro Heiskanen, DAL (first)D Roman Josi, NSH (second)G Devan Dubnyk,
MIN (third)G Pekka Rinne, NSH (third)The Central Division team is led by Mikko
Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche, who is the league's second-leading scorer
behind Kucherov. Rantanen is bull strong, and that allows him to hold on to the
puck—even when he's being checked. He also has excellent passing skills and a
fine shot. Rantanen has scored 23 goals and 51 assists.Linemate Nathan MacKinnon
joins Rantanen, and he has scored 27 goals and 44 assists. Few players in the
league can match MacKinnon when it comes to flat-out speed and skating around
the defense.Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks is playing in his eighth
All-Star Game. While the Blackhawks have struggled badly and are in last place
in the Central, Kane has scored 29 goals and 42 assists this year.Blake Wheeler
and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets bring plenty of offense to the Central
team. Wheeler, a solid three-zone player, has nine goals and 52 assists, while
Scheifele has netted 25 goals and added 34 assists.Defenseman Roman Josi of the
Nashville Predators has earned one of the key blue-line spots along with Miro
Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars.Josi excels at handling the puck and going deep in
the offensive zone to make a play. Josi has scored eight goals and 28 assists,
while Heiskanen has nine goals and 11 assists, including three game-winning
goals.Pekka Rinne of Nashville and Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild are the
Central goaltenders. Rinne has an 18-12-3 mark and a 2.47 GAA along with a .915
save percentage. Dubnyk has a 20-16-3 record, a 2.57 GAA and a .913 save
percentage.The Central team looks strong in all areas and should have an
excellent chance of performing well in this format.Pacific DivisionF Johnny
Gaudreau
J.T.
Brown Jersey Womens , CGY (fifth)F Clayton Keller, ARI (first)F Connor
McDavid, EDM (third)F Joe Pavelski, SJS (third)F Elias Pettersson, VAN (first)F
Leon Draisaitl, EDM (first)D Brent Burns, SJS (sixth)D Drew Doughty, LAK
(fifth)D Erik Karlsson, SJS (sixth)G Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK (fourth)G John
Gibson, ANA (second)It may be hard to top the Pacific Division roster when it
comes to star power, as this team features McDavid and Johnny Gaudreau of the
Calgary Flames. McDavid is the fastest player in the league and is probably its
best player.McDavid has scored 29 goals and 44 assists, and his 73 points mean
he's tied for third in scoring with Gaudreau. The Flames winger'squickness,
ability to handle the puck in tight spaces and shoot the puck accurately is
without peer.McDavid's partner with the Oilers is Leon Draisaitl, and those two
will team up in the All-Star Game. Draisaitl has 27 goals and 34 assists, and he
excels at finding open teammates and setting them up with excellent scoring
opportunities.With the San Jose Sharks hosting the game, hometown heroes Joe
Pavelski, Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson should all play key roles. Burns is
probably the most explosive offensive defenseman in the league, and he has nine
goals and 46 assists this term. He has scored four game-winning goals, and five
of his markers have come on the power play.Pavelski has scored 27 goals 18
assists, and he is connecting on 20.8 percent of his shots. Karlsson, the
longtime Senator blueliner, has taken some time to get used to his new
surroundings. However, he appears to have made progress, and he has three goals
and 40 assists this campaign.Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights will
share the goaltending duties with John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks.Look for the
Pacific Division team, with McDavid, Gaudreauand three Sharks, to triumph.