BOLTS STRIKE DOWN DEVILS
Nikita Kucherov notched a goal and three assists and became the first player in the league to reach 100 points this season in leading the Lightning to a much-needed 4-1 victory over the slumping Devils on Sunday in Newark.
The Devils are 5-8 in their last 13 games.
The Devils and coach Lindy Ruff have concerns with 24 games left in the regular season. They have been inconsistent in an injury-filled season and fans started chanting for Ruff to be fired late in the game. They also did it early last season before the Devils went on a run en route to setting a franchise record for points.
“I take full responsibility. I take full responsibility,” said Ruff, who got a new contract earlier this season. “You know, we want to win and we’ve dealt with a lot. Players want to win. I’m responsible for the wins and losses and who gets on the ice and who doesn’t get on the ice.”
Kucherov leads the NHL with 102 points. Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel were the recipients of Kucherov’s 62nd, 63rd and 64th assists of the season, and he added his 38th goal. Jonas Johansson stopped 18 shots in giving Andrei Vasilevskiy a rare day off.
Tyler Toffoli scored his 25th goal of the season for the Devils, who are 2-9-1 in the second half of back-to-back games. Akira Schmid, who was making his first start since Dec. 21, stopped 23 shots, but he and the Devils were no match for the Lightning’s top line of Point, Hagel and Kucherov.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Kucherov needed only 4:15 to stake the Lightning to a 2-0 lead, setting up Hedman’s 10th of the season and Point’s 30th.
Hedman, who has been playing significant minutes with the defense banged up, gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 1:27, putting in the rebound of Kucherov’s shot. Hagel got an assist on the play, extending his career-long point streak to 13 games, tied for third longest in franchise history.
Point extended the lead a little less than three minutes later on bad-angle shot after he was sent in alone on Schmid. The Devils goaltender didn’t give Point a shot, but the center skated around him and banged the puck off his leg,