Lightning move closer to playoff spot with win

LIGHTNING MOUNT COMEBACK, CLOSE GAP IN EASTERN CONFERENCE

* Nikita Kucherov (0-2-2) had multiple points for the fifth straight game (7-4-11). Kucherov (38-42-80) has NHL career-highs in goals, assists and points, and moved into a share of fourth in League scoring with Brad Marchand (37-43-80). Elias notes that Kucherov is the first Lightning player with five straight multi-point games since Steven Stamkos accomplished the feat from Feb. 9 to March 2, 2010 (5-6-11 in 5 GP).
* Per Elias, Tampa Bay overcame a three-goal deficit to win for the first time since Nov. 6, 2011 (4-3 W vs. FLA).
* Victor Hedman (0-3-3) had three assists for the fourth time this season to reach the 50-assist plateau for the first time in his NHL career (15-50-65).

MONDAY'S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
Detroit 4, CAROLINA 3 (OT)
BUFFALO 4, Florida 2
Nashville 3, NY ISLANDERS 1
TAMPA BAY 5, Chicago 4 (OT)
ST. LOUIS 4, Arizona 1
CALGARY 4, Colorado 2

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE STAYS HOT

The Nashville Predators (39-25-11, 89 points), Calgary Flames (43-29-4, 90 points) and St. Louis Blues (41-28-6, 88 points) all earned victories Monday to keep pace in the Western Conference race:
* Viktor Arvidsson (GWG) scored for the fifth time in his past six games when the Predators earned their fourth straight victory, moving within six points of the Minnesota Wild (44-24-7, 95 points) for second place in the Central Division. Nashville will play Minnesota and St. Louis on April 1 and 2, respectively.
* Sean Monahan matched an NHL career-high with four points (one goal, three assists) to help the Flames remain two points ahead of the Blues for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Brian Elliott (24 saves) improved to 14-1-1 in his past 16 decisions and Johnny Gaudreau (1-1-2) extended his point streak to five games (2-7-9).
* Alexander Steen (0-4-4) had an NHL career-high four assists while Jaden Schwartz (2-1-3) and Vladimir Tarasenko (1-2-3) each earned three points to help the Blues improve to 10-1-1 in their past 12 games, keeping pace with the Predators in the battle for third place in the Central Division. Jake Allen improved to 8-1-1 in his past 10 decisions with a 1.39 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and two shutouts.

LOOSE PUCKS

Andreas Athanasiou scored his second overtime goal in as many games to help the Detroit Red Wings improve to 5-1-1 in their past seven games . . . Jeff Skinner (1-0-1) scored to extend his goal and point streaks to six and seven games, respectively (8-2-10) and the Carolina Hurricanes (33-27-14, 80 points) extended their point streak to 11 games (7-0-4) . . . Buffalo Sabres captain Brian Gionta scored the game-winning goal in his 1,000th NHL game . . . Florida Panthers forward Shawn Thornton (700) and Predators defenseman Roman Josi (400) also skated in milestone games . . . Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller, a native of Chesterfield, Missouri, made his NHL debut in his home state . . . Red Wings defenseman Dan Renouf also made his NHL debut . . . San Jose Sharks forward Micheal Haley was suspended one game for roughing Nashville's Calle Jarnkrok . . . Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf were named the NHL's
"Three Stars" for the week
ending March 26 . . . Renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris unveiled portraits of Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr as part of the
NHL Centennial Celebration
.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY'S ACTION

All Times Eastern
Winnipeg @ New Jersey, 7 p.m., MSG+, TSN3
Nashville @ Boston, 7 p.m., SN1, SNO, TVA Sports, NESN, FS-TN
Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 7 p.m., TCN-PH, RDS2, TSN5
Detroit @ Carolina, 7 p.m., FS-CR, FS-D+
Buffalo @ Columbus, 7 p.m., FS-O, MSG-B
Florida @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m., TSN4, FS-F
Dallas @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, FS-SW
Washington @ Minnesota, 8 p.m., NHLN-US, FS-N, CSN-DC
Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 9 p.m., SNW, FS-W
Anaheim @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., SNP, PRIME
NY Rangers @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., SNE, SNO, CSN-CA, MSG
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PACIFIC DIVISION BATTLE RESUMES

The top three teams in the Pacific Division -- separated by two points -- all play Tuesday when they look to inch closer to securing a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
* The Ducks (41-23-11, 93 points) visit the Vancouver Canucks (30-36-9, 69 points) looking to increase their lead atop the division. Anaheim has won four straight games and has earned a point in each of its past seven (6-0-1).
* The Sharks (42-26-7, 91 points) look to end a six-game slide when they host the New York Rangers (46-26-4, 96 points) at SAP Center. New York, who holds the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, will try to close the gap on the Columbus Blue Jackets (48-19-7, 103 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (46-18-11, 103 points) in the Metropolitan Division standings.
* The Edmonton Oilers (41-25-9, 91 points), who are 6-1-0 in their past seven games, host the Los Angeles Kings (35-32-7, 77 points) at Rogers Place in the fourth of five games this season. The teams will conclude their season series in Los Angeles on April 4.