4 things we learned in the NHL: Lightning, Kucherov continue dominance

kucherov-goal

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates with teammates, including defenseman Dan Girardi (5), defenseman Victor Hedman (77) and center Brayden Point (21), after scoring. (Chris O'Meara/AP)

Nikita Kucherov led the Tampa Bay Lightning to their best stretch in franchise history while Erik Karlsson returned from his suspension in dominant fashion.

Here are four things we learned in the NHL on Saturday.

Kucherov and Lightning show no signs of slowing down

After taking the top spot in the NHL scoring race, Kucherov continued his dominant stretch with another multi-point performance against the Montreal Canadiens in a high-scoring affair on Saturday night.

With a goal and an assist in the Lightning’s 6-5 win, Kucherov extended his point streak to 10 games and recorded his fifth straight multi-point performance. Only Vincent Lecavalier has had more consecutive games with multiple points in franchise history.

Kucherov extended his lead in the scoring race over Mikko Rantanen with his 63rd point of the season as Tampa Bay finished the month of December with their best stretch in franchise history.

Not only did they establish a new record for wins and points in a month, but the Lightning also showed their ability to light the lamp at will with another five-plus goal performance.

Karlsson makes amends for suspension

Karlsson’s return from an extended Christmas break was a big one as he scored a season-high four points against the Edmonton Oilers.

This was the first game back for the Sharks defenceman after receiving a two-game suspension for a hit to the head on Austin Wagner.

In 38 games this season Karlsson has three goals and 27 assists, which ranks as the seventh-highest total among defencemen. His teammate Brent Burns is the third highest point-producing defenceman with 38 points in 40 games.

In the month of December, the 28-year-old has one goal and 14 assists in 12 games after a slow start to the season where he scored 15 points in 26 games.

Joe Thornton also reached another milestone playing in his 1,524th career game, which tied him with Brendan Shanahan for 17th on the all-time games played list.

Barzal dazzles with natural hat-trick

It looks like Mathew Barzal is getting his scoring touch back for the New York Islanders after tallying a natural hat-trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

He became the first Islanders’ forward to score three goals against the Maple Leafs since Mike Bossy did it back in 1986.

After scoring three goals in his first 24 games of the season, Barzal has turned things around in December with seven goals in 12 games. The 2017 Calder Trophy winner leads the Islanders in scoring with 35 points in 36 games this season.

Rask reaches new milestone with Bruins

Playing in his 468th game in a Boston Bruins uniform, Tuukka Rask tied Tiny Thompson for the most games played by a goalie in franchise history.

With the 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, the 31-year-old is also inching closer to another franchise mark held by Thompson as Boston’s all-time wins leader.

The former three-time Vezina Trophy winner has 252 victories, so Rask only needs six more wins to pass Thompson for the Bruins all-time mark.

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