Kucherov, Lightning rout Sens
Nikita Kucherov scored three power-play goals in the second period and the Tampa Bay Lightning kept their fading playoff hopes alive with a 5-1 victory against the Ottawa Senators last night in Tampa.
Kucherov had the second hat trick of his career and added an assist in the third period. Jonathan Drouin assisted all three of his goals and Victor Hedman assisted on two.
A day after trading goaltender Ben Bishop to Los Angeles and just hours after trading forward Brian Boyle to Toronto, the Lightning improved to 6-1-2 in their past nine games.
The Senators, who won at Florida on Sunday night, are 6-6 during their past 12 games.
Playing in his first game as a No. 1 goalie in the wake of the Bishop trade, Andrei Vasilevskiy survived a rough start to end a five-game losing streak (0-2-3).
Both teams made trades yesterday. The Senators geared up for the postseason push by acquiring forward Alex Burrows from Vancouver for prospect Jonathan Dahlen. The Lightning traded defenseman and Hingham native Boyle to the Maple Leafs for a 2017 second-round pick and minor league forward Byron Froese.
Canadiens 4, Devils 3 — In Newark, N.J., Alex Galchenyuk scored on a power play at 2:54 of overtime and Montreal rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat New Jersey.
Max Pacioretty scored twice in the final 11:23 of regulation to tie the game and Alexander Radulov added a goal for the Canadiens, who won consecutive games for the first time since early January. Al Montoya had 34 saves.
Kyle Palmieri, John Moore and Travis Zajac scored for the Devils, who have lost four straight.
The Canadiens also made a swap of defensemen, acquiring Jordie Benn from the Dallas Stars for Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft.
Wild 5, Kings 4 — Mikael Granlund beat two defenders to find open ice and wrap the winning shot around goalie Jonathan Quick just 12 seconds into overtime, giving Minnesota a victory against Los Angeles in St. Paul, Minn.
Granlund’s 20th goal of the season gave goalie Devan Dubnyk his NHL-leading 33rd win and the Wild their 15th comeback victory.
The Wild were without forwards Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, who were diagnosed with mumps and must miss at least three games. Minnesota also traded 25-yearold forward Teemu Pulkkinen to the Arizona Coyotes for future considerations
Elsewhere in the NHL — According to multiple reports, the Washington Capitals acquired defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk from the Blues in a blockbuster deal that will send multiple draft picks to St. Louis. The trade was not made official by either team, but all signs point to the Capitals adding a major piece in their pursuit of a Stanley Cup. Washington is the top team in the NHL with 89 points. . . .
The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed center Zac Dalpe off waivers from the Minnesota Wild. . . .
The Detroit Red Wings signed defenseman Nick Jensen to a two-year deal, counting $812,500 against the salary cap each season. . . .
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning has been suspended for two games by the NHL for a hit to the head against Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel.