Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

05/16/2018 at 6:33am EDT

TUESDAY’S RESULT
The Lightning defeated the Capitals in Game 3 to earn their first win of the Eastern Conference Final. Tampa Bay is looking to win a series after falling behind 2-0 for the second time in franchise history; it accomplished the feat in the 2003 Conference Quarterfinals by bouncing back from an 0-2 deficit with four consecutive wins to defeat the Capitals in six games.

* There have been only seven sweeps in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the bracket format was introduced in 2014 (7 of 74 series; 9.5%), with none occurring beyond the Second Round. The previous five-year stretch saw 11 of 75 series end in sweeps (14.7%).

ALL-STARS POWER LIGHTNING TO FIRST WIN OF SERIES
Victor Hedman
(1-2—3), Steven Stamkos (1-1—2), Nikita Kucherov (1-1—2) and Brayden Point (1-1—2), who all represented the Lightning at home during the 2018 NHL All-Star Game in Tampa alongside goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (36 saves), combined for all four goals as the Lightningcut their series deficit to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Final.


* Stamkos – who scored for the third consecutive game – extended his point streak to six contests (5-4—9). He notched his 10th career power-play goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (all w/ TBL) to move into a tie with Martin St. Louis for the most in franchise history.

* Kucherov boosted his career totals to 29-29—58 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He leads all players in postseason goals since making his NHL debut in 2013-14 and has recorded the fourth-most playoff points over that span, trailing only Sidney Crosby (26-54—80), Evgeni Malkin (26-42—68) and Ryan Getzlaf (16-45—61).

* Point recorded his fourth multi-point game of the postseason and second in as many contests. He ranks third on the team with 6-8—14 in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and leads all Lightning skaters with five goals and 11 points (tied) since the start of the Second Round.

* Vasilevskiy improved to 9-4 in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs (2.68 GAA, .915 SV%), including a 4-1 mark on the road (1.99 GAA, .940 SV). He led all goaltenders with 18 road wins in the 2017-18 regular season.

HEDMAN EXTENDS POINT STREAK TO EIGHT GAMES
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman extended his point streak to eight games (1-10—11), tied for the longest in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs (w/ Jake Guentzel). This marks just the 15th time in NHL history that a defenseman has recorded a point streak of eight-plus games in the postseason and first since Pittsburgh’s Larry Murphy had a nine-game run in 1995 (2-13—15 in 9 GP).


* The record for longest point streak by a defenseman in the postseason belongs to Calgary’s Al MacInnis, who put together a 17-game stretch (7-19—26 in 17 GP) during the Flames’ Stanley Cup run of 1989 en route to being awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.

* Hedman, who was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy for the second consecutive season, matched his career high for points in a playoff game originally set in Game 3 of the 2016 Second Round (1-2—3 at NYI). Only one other defenseman in franchise history has recorded three points in a postseason contest: Eric Brewer in Game 2 of the 2011 Conference Quarterfinals (1-2—3 at PIT).

QUICK CLICKS

· Golden Knights fired up for homecoming in Game 3 against Jets (via Nick Cotsonika)

· Jets hope to continue road success in Game 3 (via Lisa Dillman)

· Original Stanley Cup in spotlight to celebrate its 125th anniversary

· Jaromir Jagr says he will return to play for Kladno


SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
The Golden Knights pack another franchise first into their inaugural NHL season when they host a Conference Finals game for the first time on Wednesday against the Jets. When a Conference Finals/Semifinals series is tied 1-1 (since 1974-75), the winner of Game 3 holds an all-time series record of 35-8 (81.4%).

NBC Sports Channel Finder | Sportsnet Channel Finder | NHL Network Channel Finder

the information above was provided by the NHL PR department

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by HippyDave in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Paying David Perron - 16 minutes ago
Comment by HippyDave in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry The NHL Draft Lottery Will Be Held On May 7th - 18 minutes ago
Comment by OlderThanChelios in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Paying David Perron - 41 minutes ago
Comment by HippyDave in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Paying David Perron - 51 minutes ago
Comment by HippyDave in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Do The Wings Need Another Goalie? - 54 minutes ago