JOHNSON’S HAT TRICK POWERS LIGHTNING . . .
Tyler Johnson recorded his second career hat trick to help the Lightning snap a 10-game losing streak to the Penguins dating to Jan. 15, 2012 (0-9-1).

* Johnson’s lone other three-goal game came on Jan. 25, 2014, when he posted 3-0—3 in a 5-2 win vs. COL.

* Johnson has found the scoresheet in each of his past five games, totaling 5-3—8 in that span. He leads the Lightning and shares seventh in the NHL this season in both assists (24) and points (37) in 35 GP.

* Nikita Kucherov (1-2—3) and Ondrej Palat (0-3—3) also recorded three-point performances, both matching career highs. Kucherov potted his 14th goal of the season, second on the team to Steven Stamkos (19), while Palat collected his first career three-assist game.

* Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves, including 11 in the middle frame, to pick up his second win in his first three NHL starts. He has stopped 94-of-100 shots on goal, compiling a 2.01 GAA and .940 SV%.

* The Lightning improved to 7-2-0 in their last nine games at Amalie Arena. They are 13-4-1 overall at home this season; their 13 home wins are tied for second in the NHL, while their 27 home points share fourth.

. . . CANADIENS, RED WINGS KEEP PACE IN ATLANTIC DIVISION
Both the Canadiens and Red Wings also won on Tuesday to keep pace in the crowded Atlantic Division:

* Down 1-0 early in the second period, the Canadiens scored three unanswered goals to record their fifth victory in their past six starts. Carey Price made 37 saves, including 15 in the final frame, to collect his 19th win of the season, tied for second in the NHL (with Frederik Andersen and Marc-Andre Fleury).

* Per Elias, Price improved to 8-0-3 in the last 11 regular-season road games in which he has faced at least 38 shots on goal (dating to January 2011).

* Skating in his 800th NHL game, Andrei Markov posted the team’s opening goal to extend his point streak to five contests (2-4—6). Brendan Gallagher added his sixth career game-winning goal and third of the season.

* Trailing 3-1 late in the second period, the Red Wings recorded five unanswered goals to snap a six-game skid (0-2-4). Tomas Tatar scored twice, including the tiebreaking marker – his fourth game-winning goal of the season, tied for second in the NHL and one behind League leader Patrick Kane (5).

* Gustav Nyquist collected three assists, matching a single-game high established on March 7, 2014 vs. NJD (1-3—4). Danny DeKeyser (1-1—2), Henrik Zetterberg (1-1—2) and Jakub Kindl (0-2—2) also posted multi-point performances.

* The Red Wings scored four power-play goals, including three straight conversions in the third period to take the lead. They had not scored four or more power-play goals in one game since Dec. 27, 2010, when they went 4-for-6 on the man-advantage in a 4-3 overtime win at COL.

JETS DEFEAT BLACKHAWKS IN CENTRAL SHOWDOWN
Mathieu Perreault scored twice and both Blake Wheeler (1-1—2) and Andrew Ladd (0-2—2) added multi-point games to help the Jets extend their point streak to four contests (3-0-1).

* At 18-10-7 (43 points), the Jets moved within five points of the Blackhawks (23-10-2, 48 points) for the top spot in the Central Division.

* After posting a 19-18-4 record as visitors in 2013-14, the Jets are 10-4-4 in road games this season. Their 24 road points rank second in the NHL, behind only the Ducks (12-5-2, 26 points).

* Perreault extended his point streak to eight games (5-4—9), one shy of his career long set March 14-31, 2014 (6-4—10 w/ ANA). He had 3-5—8 in 26 outings this season prior to his current eight-game stretch.

* Via Elias, Perreault is the third player to record an eight-game point streak for the Jets since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. The others to achieve that feat: Evander Kane (2x, in 2011-12 and 2012-13) and Tobias Enstrom (in 2012-13). No one has posted a point streak of nine or more games for the club in that span.

* Rookie goaltender Michael Hutchinson made a career-high 38 saves, including 19 in the second period, to improve to 8-2-2 this season. He leads the NHL with a 1.67 GAA and .944 SV% in 13 GP.

* The Jets picked up their third straight victory over Blackhawks dating to Jan. 26, 2014; they had lost the seven prior meetings before this stretch (0-5-2).

SHUTOUTS LIFT MAPLE LEAFS, AVALANCHE TO WINS
Both the Maple Leafs and Avalanche recorded shutouts on Tuesday to pick up victories:

* Jonathan Bernier stopped all 43 shots he faced to earn his ninth career shutout (second this season) and help the Maple Leafs snap a three-game skid. Per Elias, Bernier became the third goaltender since 1967-68 to post 43 or more saves for Toronto in a shutout. The others: Mike Palmateer (47 SV on March 12, 1977 vs. DET) and James Reimer (2x, 49 SV on Feb. 4, 2012 at OTT and 43 SV on Oct. 29, 2013 at EDM).

* James van Riemsdyk (1-2—3), Nazem Kadri (1-1—2) and Phil Kessel (0-2—2) all registered multi-point games. Tyler Bozak added his seventh power-play goal of the season, establishing a career high and moving into a tie for seventh in the NHL.

* The Maple Leafs improved to 20-12-3 (43 points) this season; they have reached 20 wins before Christmas for the first time since 2003-04. The Maple Leafs also picked up their first shutout against the Stars since Oct. 25, 1999, when Curtis Joseph made 17 saves in a 4-0 victory vs. DAL.

* Making his first appearance since Dec. 5, Semyon Varlamov denied all 26 shots he faced, including 12 in the final frame, to record his 15th career shutout (second this season) and lead the Avalanche to their season-high third consecutive win.

* Varlamov improved to 6-4-2 with a 1.75 GAA and .946 SV% in 12 career GP vs. STL. Each of his past three wins against the Blues has come via a shutout (also Feb. 20, 2013 vs. STL: 33 SV and April 5, 2014 at STL: 31 SV).

* Five players registered multi-point games for the Avalanche, who also extended their point streak to six contests (4-0-2): Jarome Iginla (1-1—2), Ryan O’Reilly (1-1—2), Alex Tanguay (1-1—2), Gabriel Landeskog (0-2—2) and Brad Stuart (0-2—2).

AROUND THE RINKS
Highlights from the rest of Tuesday’s action:

* Sam Gagner posted 2-2—4, his best single-game output since recording a career-high 4-4—8 on Feb. 2, 2012 vs. CHI, to power the Coyotes to a sweep of their five-game season series with the Oilers. Gagner played the first seven seasons of his NHL career for Edmonton, totaling 101-194—295 in 481 GP prior to an offseason trade. Martin Hanzal (0-3—3), Martin Erat (1-1—2) and Brandon Gormley (1-1—2) also earned multi-point games for the Coyotes, who extended their point streak against the Oilers to a franchise-record 18 contests dating to March 17, 2011 (15-0-3).

* Knotted at 2-2 late in the second period, the Flyers scored three unanswered goals – including the tiebreaking marker by Wayne Simmonds – to post their third three-game winning streak of the season (also Oct. 22-28 and Nov. 4-8). Simmonds recorded his fourth game-winning goal of 2014-15, matching a career high achieved in each of the past three seasons. Jakub Voracek added two assists; he has 3-6—9 in his past four outings and leads the NHL this season with 32 helpers and 46 points in 34 GP.

* Loui Eriksson scored twice, including the go-ahead goal early in the second period, to power the Bruins to their third win in their past four outings. Eriksson has registered multi-point performances in each of those victories (4-2—6); he had five goals in his first 31 appearances of the season. Patrice Bergeron (0-3—3), Brad Marchand (2-0—2) and Chris Kelly (0-2—2) also notched multi-point games for the Bruins, who improved to 9-2-2 in their last 13 contests at TD Garden.

* Ron Hainsey posted the tying goal with 8:01 remaining in regulation and Chris Terry scored the lone marker in the shootout to help the Hurricanes snap a four-game losing streak to the Devils. Hainsey recorded his first goal since Jan. 19, 2014 vs. TBL, ending a 66-game drought. Anton Khudobin made 18 saves – and denied all three shootout attempts he faced – to pick up his first win of the season (1-8-2 in 11 GP).

LOOSE PUCKS
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin collected two assists. He paces the team and shares third in the NHL with 16-25—41 in 34 GP . . . Flyers captain Claude Giroux found the back of the net and has 3-3—6 in his past three outings. He is tied (with Malkin) for third in the League with 11-30—41 in 34 GP . . . Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin recorded his 16th goal of the season, tied for sixth in the NHL. He now has 438 career goals, moving past Pavel Bure and into sole possession of third place in League history for a Russian-born player. Only Sergei Fedorov (483) and Alexander Mogilny (473) have scored more among Russian-born NHLers . . . Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello posted two assists. He now has 111 career points, tying Espen Knutsen for the most among Norwegian-born NHLers . . . Bruins forward Chris Kelly registered two assists to extend his point streak to five games (1-5—6) . . . Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald (0-1—1) and Jets forward Chris Thorburn (0-1—1) both notched their 100th NHL points . . . Taylor Beck (1-1—2), Calle Jarnkrok (1-1—2) and Mattias Ekholm (0-2—2) recorded multi-point games for the Predators . . . Sabres forward Joel Armia, Penguins forward Dominik Uher and Hurricanes forward Brendan Woods all made their NHL debuts . . . ICYMI: The Stars aired a video tribute for Maple Leafs defenseman Stephane Robidas, who returned to Dallas for the first time since being dealt at the 2014 Trade Deadline. Robidas spent parts of 11 seasons with the Stars, compiling 46-165—211 in 704 GP . . . Sharks forward John Scott will have a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety today for punching Ducks forward Tim Jackman . . . Click here for a recap of the second episode of Road to the NHL Winter Classic, which premiered on Tuesday. Fans who missed the episode can watch it on demand here.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, MSG-B, BELL TV
Detroit @ Ottawa, 7:00 p.m., CBC, TVA, FS-D
Carolina @ Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m., FS-CR, SUN
New Jersey @ NY Rangers, 7:00 p.m., MSG+ 2, MSG
Boston @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., NESN, FS-O
Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 7:00 p.m., CITY, FS-N
Washington @ Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN, SN, ROOT
Dallas @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., FS-SW, FS-MW
Philadelphia @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., CSN-PH, FS-TN
Anaheim @ Arizona, 8:00 p.m., PRIME, FS-A
Chicago @ Colorado, 9:00 p.m., CSN-CH, ALT
Edmonton @ Calgary, 10:00 p.m., CBC
San Jose @ Los Angeles, 10:00 p.m., NBCSN, SN, TVA

thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above