Krenn: Three Things we learned from a second-straight victory

It's just a two-game winning streak, but the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking like they're ready for the postseason. After the loss to Detroit on Tuesday, there was a lot of chatter about how the Bolts would fare in their next three games, all against playoff opponents. So far, Tampa Bay has answered that question emphatically with two big wins over the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Nashville Predators.

After taking down Toronto 8-1, which was the largest margin of victory in a game this season, the Lightning turned around and had another dominant offensive performance on Saturday with a 6-2 win over Nashville.
The Bolts tied two franchise records with the win on Saturday, with 14 goals tying the record for most goals in a two-game span and 24 goals matching the record for most goals in a four-game span.
There were impressive performances up and down the lineup. Steven Stamkos recorded a three-point game, as did Nikita Kucherov.
Victor Hedman had another multi-point game with two points of his own.
Brayden Point recorded an assist for his 200th career helper with the Bolts, tying him with Tyler Johnson for the 10th-most helpers in team history.
Anthony Cirelli scored a goal, along with Pat Maroon, who was celebrating his 34th birthday.
Nick Paul recorded an assist for his 11th point in 17 games since joining the Lightning.
Ross Colton lit the lamp once again for Tampa Bay, his 18th goal since the start of 2022. Only Kucherov and Stamkos have found the back of the net more than Colton since January 1.
Brian Elliott got the start between the pipes and made 19 saves on 21 shots to continue his strong year as Andrei Vasilevskiy's backup.
"He's been playing great for us," said Hedman. "He's always in the zone when it comes to practice and he's always ready to go. We're fortunate to have the tandem that we have, obviously the best goalie in the league, and then Moose coming in in relief and giving us a chance to win every single night he plays.
"We're very fortunate to have that tandem and, once again, tonight he made some unbelievable saves."
The power play stayed hot for the Lightning with a two-for-two mark on the night. Tampa Bay's power play is clicking at 50% over their last four games, as they have scored at least one power-play goal in each of those four contests and are 6-for-12 during that span.
"I love our [goaltending] tandem," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper on Saturday night. "But I don't care who's in net, if you're not defending, they can only do so much and when you give your goaltender some help, like we've been doing here the past couple of games, good things happen.
"Now we're just asking our goaltenders to make the saves they should and, if that's the case, you're going to have success and I think it all starts with a commitment to 'D.' We've done it the last couple games and we're seeing the fruits of our labor now."
After a disappointing loss to Detroit, the Lightning have responded in a big way over the last two games. Now, they have to keep that style of play rolling through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. With a performance like the one tonight, things are looking up.
Here's what we learned from another big win on Saturday night.

1. STAMMER'S SHINING
The Lightning's captain is currently riding one of the hottest stretches of his entire career.
Stamkos has been on fire for the Bolts as of late, recording at least one point in 14 of his last 16 contests with nine multi-point games and 27 total points (8G, 19A) during that span. Stamkos is up to 93 points in 77 games this season, scoring 35 goals and adding 58 assists. He's just one assist shy of tying his career high of 59 and only five points away from matching his career-best 98 points that he recorded during the 2018-19 season.
Stamkos has recorded three consecutive three-point games, an achievement that only Kucherov has accomplished in Lightning history. He has also put up five consecutive multi-point games, a streak that has been bested by only two players in Bolts history. Vincent Lecavalier had a run of eight straight multi-point games during the 2007-08 season and Kucherov pulled off a seven-game streak during the 2018-19 season.
With 13 points (3G, 10A) over his last five games, Stamkos has matched his career high for points over a five-game span. He also recorded 13 points (2G, 11A) in five games during the 2017-18 season.
It's been an incredible year for Stamkos, who has crossed over the 90-point mark for the fifth time in his career. Stamkos came into the NHL labeled as a pure goal-scorer. He has certainly proven that he possesses that talent over his career in Tampa Bay. But he has also added a playmaking ability to his game that has just gotten better and better as his career has rolled on.
When asked about Stamkos's growth as a player last Wednesday, Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern shed some light on how Tampa Bay's captain has continued to improve.
"He's scored a ton of points with his speed and his shot, but the thing that strikes me is he's able to play the game with his head up and make plays, whereas a lot of guys don't have full vision of the ice," said Halpern. "He's kind of developed that over his career. He's gone from a prolific scorer, and he still is, but to a playmaker - a guy who can make those passes and make those plays.
"Like every good scorer or athlete in any sport, they're able to reinvent themselves in different ways and I think Stammer, from goal scoring to playmaking, has been able to do that.

2. KUCH BEING KUCH
Tampa Bay fans have been extraordinarily lucky to watch some of the talent that the Bolts have put on the ice over time. One perfect example of that is Kucherov, who will go down as one of the most gifted players in the history of the organization once it's all said and done.
Saturday was just another casual three-point performance for Kucherov, who continues to look a step ahead of everyone on the ice with his creativity and decision making.
"The best playmaker in this league," said Hedman following Saturday's win. "He's got that shooting threat as well and he's not afraid to use that.
"We don't even know exactly what he's going to do, but we know what spots to be in and he'll find us or he just takes the puck and does it himself, just like he did at the end of the first period. It's fun to watch and the power play's been great as of late."
Hedman was referring to Tampa Bay's third goal of the first period, a power-play goal that was Kucherov's 21st tally of the season. After a faceoff win from Point, Kucherov controlled the puck at the top of the circle while moving across the offensive zone. He held the puck, waited for some traffic in front, and fired a wrist shot past Saros to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead.
Following a Nashville power-play goal to cut the Bolts' lead to 3-2, Kucherov worked his magic again to help restore the two-goal lead. After he couldn't corral the puck along the boards in the offensive zone, Kucherov quickly recovered and forced a Nashville turnover. He slipped the puck over to Ondrej Palat, who gave it right back to Kucherov before he zipped a pass over to Stamkos for a one-timer into the back of the net that Lightning fans have seen countless times.
It was a great recovery and smart play from Kucherov, who was engaged on the forecheck, worked in some physicality, and showcased the game-breaking talent that he brings to the table every game.
"Kuch is one of the best players in the world and you see it every shift," said Cirelli. "He's making something happen on the offensive side, but even on the defensive side, he's making some really good plays with his stick and playing hard.
"I think when Kuch is doing that as one of the best players in the world, it just gives our whole group a little bit of confidence and momentum. When he's going out there and doing that, it just gets everyone on the bus and gets us going. If Kuch is doing that and he's finishing hits and playing hard, it just gets all the guys going."
It was Kucherov's sixth game of the season with three or more points. He has scored a goal in five straight games to match the longest goal streak on the Lightning this season. Stamkos also had a five-game goal streak from February 11 - March 1. It's not the first time Kucherov has scored goals in five straight, but it does match his career high. He scored goals in five straight games from February 10-18, 2019 when he had seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points.
Kucherov has 10 goals over the last 11 games and has scored a power-play goal in three straight contests. Since the start of 2022, no player on the Lightning has scored more goals than Kucherov, who has lit the lamp 20 times since January 1. He has recorded 11 points in his last five games with six goals and five assists.
"He's a pretty special player and he just makes other people better," said Cooper. "Usually when he's rolling and he's on his game, put anybody there and he's going to help drive lines. Hopefully we can keep this going when we get into the fun part."

3. HISTORIC HEDDY
With an absolute rocket of a shot from the point on the Lightning's first power-play goal of the game, Hedman became just the second defenseman in Lightning history to score 20 goals in a single season, joining Dan Boyle who had 20 during the 2006-07 season.
It's been a record-setting year for the big Swede, who pushed his point streak to four games with the goal. He's recorded nine points over the span with one goal and eight assists.
We've watched Hedman's offensive game get better and better over the last several years, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he's recorded a career-best 20 goals and 77 points this year. It's just another example of a Hall of Fame talent that Lightning fans have had the pleasure of watching for over a decade.
Hedman picked up his 57th assist of the season when a shot deflected off Colton in the third period to give the Lightning a 5-2 lead. The assist marked his second-straight multi-point game and 18th of the season. The helper also marked a new career high in assists for Hedman, who recorded 56 during the 2016-17 season.
It's been quite a run this season for Hedman, who has recorded at least one shot on goal in 71 of 78 games this season. With his career-high 77 points this year, Hedman is currently just one point shy of being a point-per-game player, something that is rarely seen very with defensemen.
Over the last 10 NHL seasons, there are only four defensemen that have recorded more points in a single season than Hedman's 77 this year.
Roman Josi, who Hedman said should win the Norris Trophy this year, scored one of Nashville's goals tonight to bring his ridiculous point total this season to 90.
After him, there is another incredible offensive talent on the back end in Cale Makar, who has recorded 85 points so far this season.
Brent Burns logged 83 points during the 2018-19 season and Erik Karlsson had a few 75-plus point seasons with 82 points in 2015-16 and 78 points in 2011-12.
Assuming Hedman doesn't sit out any games for the rest of the regular season, he will have four games remaining to try to continue climbing that leaderboard. Regardless of where he ends up, it's more than impressive to say that only four other defensemen over the last decade have recorded more points in a single season.
I'm not sure when we will see another player of his size that can skate the way he does and perform as consistently as he does on both ends of the ice.
If it weren't for the record-breaking seasons Josi and Makar were having this year, Hedman would almost certainly be a lock to win the Norris Trophy for the second time of his career.
Regardless of that, it's always a treat watching Hedman, who will hold nearly every, if not all, franchise records for a defenseman when he calls it a career. Luckily, it doesn't look like that day will be any time soon.