THREE HARD LAPS: QUICK HITS FROM SATURDAY

* Alex Killorn collected his first career hat trick to help the League-leading Lightning (55-13-4, 114 points) establish single-season franchise records for wins and points.

* Russian duo, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Ovechkin each collected multiple points Saturday as they continue to chase NHL history.

* Connor McDavid recorded three points, including the overtime winner, to extend his streak of multi-point outings to seven contests.

KILLORN’S FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK SPARKS LIGHTNING TO FRANCHISE MARKS . . .

Alex Killorn (3-0—3) netted his first career hat trick to propel the League-leading Lightning (55-13-4, 114 points) to their 55th win of the season. Tampa Bay’s 55th win and 114th point established single-season franchise marks, after also doing so in 2017-18 (54-23-5, 113 points).

* The Lightning recorded the 12th instance in NHL history that a team has recorded 55+ wins in a season and just the fourth in the last 22 years, joining the Capitals (55 in 2016-17 and 56 in 2015-16) and Red Wings (58 in 2005-06).

* Killorn’s first career three-goal outing marked the 86th instance of the season and third in as many nights. The last campaign to finish with more such performances was 2000-01 (93).

* With 10 games remaining in their 2018-19 regular-season schedule, the Lightning registered their 17th game with at least six goals (including shootout-deciding markers). The last teams to record more than 17 such instances by season’s end were the Penguins (26) and Avalanche (18) in 1995-96, with the latter eventually capturing the Stanley Cup.

. . . WHILE RUSSIAN STARS CONTINUE TO CHASE HISTORY

Nikita Kucherov (0-2—2) and Alex Ovechkin (2-0—2) each posted multi-point outings Saturday as they continued to chase down individual milestones in 2018-19:

* Kucherov, the NHL’s leading point getter, collected an assist on Killorn’s third and final tally to boost his season totals to 35-82—117 in 72 GP. Only two Russian-born players in NHL history have recorded a higher single-season total: Sergei Fedorov (56-64—120 in 1993-94) and Alex Mogilny (76-51—127 in 1992-93).

* Meanwhile, only six players in the last 25 years have notched at least 85 assists: Joe Thornton (92 in 2006-07 w/ SJS and 96 in 2005-06 w/ BOS and SJS), Peter Forsberg (86 in 1995-96 w/ COL), Ron Francis (92 in 1995-96 w/ PIT), Jaromir Jagr (87 in 1995-96 w/ PIT) Mario Lemieux (92 in 1995-96 w/ PIT) and Wayne Gretzky (92 in 1993-94 w/ LAK).

* Ovechkin, the League’s leading goal scorer, registered his 131st career multi-goal game to improve his 2018-19 totals to 48-33—81 in 71 GP. The 33-year-old captain moved into a tie with Teemu Selanne for the eighth-most multi-goal games in NHL history.

* Additionally, his first tally of Saturday’s contest marked the 246th power-play goal of his career. Ovechkin moved into a tie with Phil Esposito for fifth on the NHL’s all-time list and sits one shy of tying Luc Robitaille for fourth.

* Ovechkin now needs two goals to reach to reach the 50-goal mark for the eighth time in his NHL career. Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy (each w/ nine) are the only players in League history to record more such seasons.

DID YOU KNOW?
Mississauga, Ont. native John Tavares scored his 40th goal with the Maple Leafs Saturday, joining the aforementioned Ovechkin, Leon Draisaitl(42-47—89) and Patrick Kane (41-58—99) as the fourth player to reach the benchmark this season. The 2018-19 campaign marks just the fourth in NHL history in which the first four players to reach the mark each originated from a different country.

McDAVID COLLECTS OT WINNER, ANOTHER MULTI-POINT OUTING
Connor McDavid (2-1—3) netted his third overtime goal of the season en route to collecting multiple points for the seventh consecutive game dating to March 2 (3-13—16). The Oilers captain matched the longest such run of the season, achieved by Auston Matthews from Oct. 3-15 (10-6—16) and Nikita Kucherov from Dec. 18 – Jan. 3 (6-15—21).

* Only two players in Oilers history have recorded multiple points in at least seven straight games: Wayne Gretzky (15x) and Mark Messier (1x). Gretzky accounts for both the last such streak by an Oilers player (Nov. 14-29, 1987: 5-16—21 in 8 GP) and the longest in club/NHL history (Dec. 20, 1985 - Jan. 25, 1986: 17-33—50 in 16 GP).

* McDavid is the third different player in franchise history, and second this season, to score three overtime goals in a single campaign. The others:Andrew Cogliano (2007-08) and Leon Draisaitl (2016-17 and 2018-19). Meanwhile, only Artemi Panarin (four w/ CBJ) and Dylan Larkin (four w/ DET) have tallied more in 2018-19.

CRAWFORD POSTS 48-SAVE SHUTOUT AS BLACKHAWKS EXTEND STREAK

Corey Crawford turned aside all 48 shots he faced to help the Blackhawks (32-30-9, 73 points) extend the League’s longest active win streak to five contests. Chicago, which moved within four points of Arizona (36-30-6, 78 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, has won five consecutive regular-season road games at Montreal for the first time in franchise history.

* Crawford’s 48 saves matched the Blackhawks franchise mark for most in a shutout performance, originally set by Dave Dryden on Feb. 15, 1969. Additionally, he joined Hockey Hall of Fame member Tony Esposito as just the second netminder in Blackhawks franchise history to record two road shutouts against the Canadiens.

WILD CARD HOPEFULS SECURE SATURDAY NIGHT VICTORIES

The Panthers (32-27-7, 83 points), Hurricanes (39-25-7, 85 points) and Wild (34-30-7, 76 points) each benefited from pivotal performances to aid their pursuit of a playoff spot.

* Aleksander Barkov (0-3—3) and Sam Montembeault (24 saves) helped the Panthers secure their fourth consecutive win and move within eight points of the Blue Jackets (40-28-4, 84 points), who hold the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Barkov (30-51—81) reached the 80-point mark for the first time in his career and joined Olli Jokinen (2005-06 and 2006-07) and Pavel Bure(1999-00 and 2000-01) as the only players in Panthers franchise history to ever reach the benchmark.

* Meanwhile, after suffering an overtime loss in his NHL debut on March 2, Montembeault has backstopped Florida in each of their last four outings. The rookie netminder became the eighth player in the last 35 years to start his career without a loss in his first five appearances.

* Jordan Staal (1-0—1) capped Carolina’s four-goal outing with his 500th NHL point (213-287—500), joining his brother Eric (415-555—970) in accomplishing the feat. The Hurricanes opened a one-point lead over the Blue Jackets (40-28-4, 84 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Staal brothers, who captured a Stanley Cup with the Penguins and Hurricanes, respectively, became the third set of siblings to collect 500 career points and a Stanley Cup.

* Meanwhile, Eric (1-0—1) scored the game-winning goal as Wild kept pace with the Coyotes (36-30-6, 78 points), who hold the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference. Staal reached the 20-goal mark for the 12th time in his career and third consecutive season, joining Brian Rolston (2005-08) as the only players in franchise history to begin their tenure with the club with three straight 20-goal campaigns.

PERRON, BINNINGTON PACE BLUES PAST PENGUINS

In his return to the lineup, David Perron found the score sheet and Jordan Binnington made 40 saves as the Blues (37-27-7, 81 points) strengthened their hold of third place in the Central Division - two points ahead of the idle Stars (37-29-5, 79 points).

* Perron, playing in his first contest since Jan. 17, collected an assist on Vince Dunn’s first of two goals to extend his point streak (6-11—17) to 14 consecutive appearances dating to Dec. 22, 2018. He is just the eighth different player in Blues franchise history to post a streak of at least 14 appearances and first since Pierre Turgeon from Dec. 2, 1999 - Jan. 3, 2000.

* Binnington became the sixth rookie netminder in 2018-19 to post a 40-save victory, a list paced by Alexandar Georgiev’s 55-save performance on Feb. 10 vs. TOR. Additionally, he became the sixth rookie netminder in Blues franchise history to record at least 40 saves in a victory and first since Jason Bacashihua turned aside as many shots on March 24, 2007 at DET.

QUICK CLICKS

* Evgeni Malkin honored in pre-game ceremony for reaching 1,000 point milestone

* Mike Hoffman sets Panthers franchise record for most goals in first season with the club

* Patrice Bergeron extends home point streak to 15 games
* Connor Hellebuyck reaches 30-win mark for the second time in as many seasons

* Garret Sparks St. Pats mask features snake made of shamrocks

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION