Kucherov reaches 141 points, Lightning fall to Senators in shootout

TAMPA -- Nikita Kucherov had two assists to add to his NHL points lead, but the Tampa Bay Lightning lost 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators in the shootout at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Kucherov has 141 points (43 goals, 98 assists), four more than Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, with three games remaining. Wayne Gretzky (11 times), Mario Lemieux (1988-89) and Bobby Orr (1970-71) are the only players to have 100 NHL assists in a season.

"[Kucherov] is unbelievable, gives our team a chance to win every night," Lightning center Brayden Point said. "We've got three games left, hopefully he can do it. That's a lot of assists. He's a heck of a player. It's awesome and he works so hard."

Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist and scored the only goal in the shootout for the Senators (35-40-4), who have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. Anton Forsberg made 24 saves.

"I love staying for shootouts and stuff, battling with the guys," Forsberg said. "We do some in warmups, if I’m not playing I’m out there and I’ll take as many as I have to. I just think it’s a fun 1-on-1 thing to do and it’s worked out pretty well so far this year.”

Point and Conor Sheary scored, and Matt Tomkins made 25 saves for the Lightning (44-27-8), who hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference and moved five points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. Toronto lost 6-5 to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. 

"It's a team sport and that's what we're driven by, but at times there's individual stuff going on and that probably takes a little bit more focus in the last couple of games," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "But we had two goals tonight, we had chances to score and we didn't."

Tkachuk gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 8:45 of the first period. He got behind the defense and took a stretch pass from Jakob Chychrun before scoring with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.

"I like how we persevered and stayed with it, after kind of a slow start," Senators interim coach Jacques Martin said. "I thought we were much more physical in the second period and we were quicker. I thought we really competed hard and got a great effort from everybody." 

Sheary tied it 1-1 at 9:45 when he scored with a backhand from between the circles off a pass from Kucherov.

"I've been watching [Kucherov] all year long. It's nice to be on the receiving end of one of those," Sheary said. "It's pretty incredible. There's obviously two guys racing for [100 assists] this year (Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid has 99), which is insane. His ability on the ice, his poise with the puck and his ability to make plays seemingly under pressure all the time is pretty impressive."

Point gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead at 12:56 when he went to the backhand to beat Forsberg from the low slot off a centering pass from Kucherov.

Drake Batherson tied it 2-2 at 2:11 of the third period when he tucked the puck past Tomkins at the right post on the rebound of his own shot.

"We're focused on finishing the season strong," Batherson said. "We've got one home game left against Montreal, so we'll be excited for that Saturday and finish the last two on the road against some good teams (at the New York Rangers on Monday, and at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday). It'll be a fun finish and we'll be looking to build on this (2-1-0) road trip."

NOTES: Lightning forward Tyler Motte left the game midway through the second period and was helped off the ice after blocking a shot with his right foot. There was no update. ... Tampa Bay forward captain Steven Stamkos had a six-game goal streak end. ... Kucherov has 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) during an eight-game point streak and 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) during a five-game multipoint streak. ... Forsberg is 4-0 in the shootout this season. … Tkachuk has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in the past 11 games.