Lightning top Avs in OT, stretch win streak to 11
DENVER: Nikita Kucherov scored at 3:03 of overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 for their franchise-best 11th consecutive win on Monday.
Kucherov stole the puck from Avalanche All-Star Nathan MacKinnon, raced down the ice and beat Pavel Francouz through the pads to win it with his 29th goal of the season.
Alex Killorn and Cameron Gaunce scored goals 16 seconds apart in the second period, Steven Stamkos also had a goal, and Curtis McElhinney made 24 saves for Tampa Bay.
MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, Andre Burakovsky and Valeri Nichushkin also scored, and Gabriel Landeskog had two assists for Colorado.
Mikko Rantanen added an assist before leaving with an apparent shoulder injury in the second period.
At Las Vegas, Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 24 saves and Max Pacioretty scored the deciding goal as Vegas moved into a tie for first place in the Pacific Division by beating Washington 3-2.
Reilly Smith and Nick Holden also scored goals for Vegas, who won their third straight game and split their two-game regular-season series with the Capitals.
Alex Ovechkin went scoreless for a season-long fifth straight game in his quest to become the eighth player in NHL history to score 700 goals. Ovechkin sits at 698.
TJ Oshie scored two goals, his 29th career two-goal game, and Jakub Vrana had two assists for Washington, who took their second straight loss and sixth in the past nine games.