KUCHEROV HITS 70-POINT MARK AS LIGHTNING STAY HOT AT HOME . . .
Nikita Kucherov (1-1—2) collected multiple points for the eighth time in nine contests to eclipse the 70-point mark (21-50—71) and lift the League-leading Lightning (33-8-2, 68 points) to their eighth straight win at Amalie Arena dating to Nov. 29.

* Tampa Bay holds a 10-point lead over the next-closest clubs (Calgary and Vegas) and are on pace for 129 points in 2018-19. There have been only four instances in NHL history of a team recording at least 125 points in a season - a feat last achieved by the Red Wings in 1995-96.

* Kucherov hit the 70-point mark in just his 43rd game of the season, 13 games faster than he did in 2017-18 when he finished with the first 100-point season of his career (39-61—100 in 80 GP). Kucherov required the fewest team games in franchise history to accumulate 70 points in a season and became the first NHL player to hit the mark within his team’s first 43 games of a season since Jaromir Jagr in 1999-00 (38 personal GP, 39 team GP w/ PIT).

* Additionally, Kucherov became the 10th different player in NHL history to accumulate 50 assists within his team's first 43 games of a season. This is the first such occurrence since 1995-96, when Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Jagr and Ron Francis all did so.

* After being named to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game earlier Tuesday, Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside all 31 shots he faced to record his 14th career shutout (all w/ TBL), matching Nikolai Khabibulin for second on the all-time franchise list behind Ben Bishop (17).

. . . OTHER CLUBS KEEP PACE IN TIGHT STANDINGS BEHIND TAMPA BAY

The Lightning are the only 2018-19 division leader with a lead greater than two points. The Capitals hold a two-point advantage over the Penguins in the Metropolitan; the Jets won to move one point ahead of the idle Predators in the Central; and the Golden Knights won to pull even in terms of points with the idle Flames in the Pacific, one point ahead of the Sharks.

* Behind Tampa Bay in the Atlantic are four clubs separated by only five points, occupying seeds 2-4: Toronto (27-13-2, 56 points), Boston (25-14-4, 54 points), Buffalo (23-14-6, 52 points) and Montreal (23-16-5, 51 points).

* Overall, only four points separate the League’s No. 2-ranked team (Calgary: 27-13-4, 58 points) and No. 10-ranked team (Pittsburgh: 24-13-6, 54 points).

VETERAN, TEENAGE NEWCOMERS KEEP PUTTING UP THE POINTS

Two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and Stanley Cup champion John Carlson each surpassed the 40-point mark in 2018-19, while MiroHeiskanen joined fellow teenage rookie blueliner Rasmus Dahlin in the 20-point club:

* Karlsson (0-3—3) collected at least one assist/point in his 14th consecutive appearance dating to Dec. 7 (1-24—25), extending the longest such runs by any player in franchise history. That includes a six-game run since Dec. 29 (1-14—15) that has seen him become the first blueliner to record at least 15 points over a span of six team games since 2011-12, when he did so with the Senators. The only other defenseman to achieve the feat since 1993-94 was Mike Green in 2008-09 with the Capitals.

* Karlsson became the fifth defenseman in NHL history to register at least one assist in 14 or more consecutive appearances. He also became the 13th differentdefenseman in League history - and sixth since 1990-91 - to record at least one point in 14 or more consecutive games within a season.

* Carlson notched two assists for his 14th multi-point performance of the season, tied for tops among NHL defensemen with San Jose’s Brent Burns. Carlson (6-35—41) is one of five NHL blueliners with 40 points this season, a list topped by Burns (7-42—49). He became the fourth different Capitals blueliner to reach 40 points within his first 41 games of a season, joining Green (38 GP in 2008-09 and 41 GP in 2009-10), Al Iafrate (40 GP in 1992-93) and Kevin Hatcher (41 GP in 1990-91).

* Dahlin (18 years, 270 days) and Heiskanen (19 years, 174 days) each found their name on the scoresheet to boost their season totals to 4-17—21 and 9-11—20, respectively, this season. The 2018-19 season marks the fifth time in the past six campaigns in which multiple teenage blueliners have recorded 20+ points in a single season.

FLEURY, MURRAY EXTEND STREAKS, HELP CLUBS KEEP PACE IN DIVISIONAL RACES

Marc-Andre Fleury (27 saves) and Matt Murray (36 saves) each extended personal streaks to backstop their clubs to victory and keep pace with division rivals:

* Fleury improved to 9-0-3 in his last 12 appearances dating to Dec. 9 as the Golden Knights extended their overall win and point streaks to seven and 10 games (8-0-2 since Dec. 20), respectively - both the longest active such runs in the NHL. Fleury has posted a personal point streak longer than 12 games on two occasions: 12-0-2 from Jan. 13 - Feb. 16, 2007 and 13-0-1 from Nov. 12 - Dec. 11, 2001.

* The reigning Pacific Division champions also extended their home point streak to 12 games (10-0-2 since Nov. 23), the longest such run in the NHL this season and tied for the longest ever by the club (also 10-0-2 from Dec. 3, 2017 - Jan. 13, 2018). Vegas will aim to match its longest overall winning streak - achieved from Dec. 14, 2017 – Jan. 2, 2018 - when they host San Jose on Thursday in a battle of two of the top three clubs in the Western Conference.

* Murray extended his record to 8-0-0 through his last eight appearances dating to Dec. 15 (1.24 GAA, .963 SV%, 2 SO) as the Penguins (24-13-6, 54 points) kept pace with the Capitals (26-12-4, 56 points) in the Metropolitan Division. He became the fourth different netminder in franchise history to record a personal win streak of eight or more games and the first to do so since Fleury in 2012-13 (8-0-0).

SIDNEY CROSBY NOTCHES 20TH GOAL AS HE NEARS TOP 50
Sidney Crosby (1-1—2) capped Pittsburgh’s victory with his 20th goal of the season, hitting the benchmark for the sixth straight campaign and 12th time in his career. The Penguins captain, who posted a career-best 51 goals in 2009-10, moved into a tie with Mario Lemieux for the most such seasons in franchise history.

* With the 350th multi-point game of his career, Crosby (431-738—1,169 in 904 GP) moved into a tie with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (637-532—1,169 in 1,045 GP) for 51st place on the NHL’s all-time points list. Both players sit two points shy of passing Bobby Hull (610-560—1,170 in 1,063 GP) to enter the top 50 in League history.

QUICK CLICKS

* Andrei Vasilevskiy added to Lightning contingent for NHL All-Star Game

* Tyler Seguin has three points in Stars win against Blues

* Two Sabres score first goal in win against Devils

* P.K. Subban records, sends uplifting video for young fan who has been bullied

* Dog Days of 2018-19: Playful pup hits the ice before Sharks game

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department