VASILEVSKIY, LEAGUE-LEADING LIGHTNING EXTEND WINNING STREAKS
Andrei Vasilevskiy (16 saves) improved to 12-0-0 in his last 12 appearances dating to Feb. 22 (1.64 GAA, .938 SV%, 3 SO) and established a franchise record for longest winning streak by a Tampa Bay goaltender, eclipsing the previous mark of 11 set by his erstwhile teammate Louis Dominguein 2018-19. Vasilevskiy is now two victories shy of matching the NHL record for longest winning streak, a feat last achieved by fellow countryman Sergei Bobrovsky four years ago.



* Tampa Bay improved to 4-0-0 in four games against Dallas this season and 5-0-0 in their last five contests against the Stars dating to their Stanley Cup-clinching win in Game 6 of the 2020 Final, with Vasilevskiy manning the Lightning crease in each outing. Tampa Bay became the second defending champion in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to defeat its Final opponent in each of their first four head-to-head games during the ensuing regular season.

* The Lightning extended their winning streak to five games and became the first team in the NHL to reach the 50-point mark this season (24-6-2, 50 points). Only three teams in League history have reached 50 points in fewer games after winning the Stanley Cup during the preceding campaign.

COYOTES RALLY AFTER MacKINNON REACHES 200-GOAL MILESTONE
Adin Hill made 35 saves and denied Nathan MacKinnon (1-2—3) in the shootout after the Avalanche forward scored the 200th regular-season goal of his NHL career earlier in the contest as Arizona overcame a 4-2, third-period deficit to defeat Colorado. The Coyotes earned their fourth multi-goal comeback win of the season – the only teams with more are the Panthers and Jets (both w/ 5).

* MacKinnon (200-330—530 in 552 GP), who extended his point streak to seven games (5-8—13), became the eighth player to score 200 goals with the Avalanche/Nordiques franchise.



YOUTH PROPEL DEVILS TO VICTORY ONCE AGAIN
Yegor Sharangovich (1-1—2; age 22), Janne Kuokkanen (0-2—2; age 22), Ty Smith (0-2—2; age 20), Michael McLeod (1-0—1; age 23) and Jesper Bratt (0-1—1; age 22) combined for 2-6—8 on Tuesday as the Devils held off a third-period Flyers rally to improve to 4-1-0 in their last five games. New Jersey players age 23 or younger have combined for 115 points this season – five of the six Devils players with 15 or more points in 2020-21 fall into this age category.



SAROS CONTINUES TO SHINE; KANE CLIMBS ALL-TIME U.S.-BORN POINTS LIST

* Predators goaltender Juuse Saros turned aside all 31 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season and help Nashville pick up its fourth win in five outings. Saros improved to 4-1-0 in his last six appearances dating to Feb. 27, posting a 1.13 goals-against average and .968 save percentage over that span.

* Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (0-2—2) reached 1,066 career NHL points and leapfrogged Keith Tkachuk (1,065) for sole possession of fourth place on the League’s all-time list among U.S.-born players. Kane was honored in a pre-game ceremony at United Center for recently reaching the 1,000-game milestone – Kane’s former head coach Joel Quenneville watched from the Panthers bench while the rest of his team was in the locker room.

QUICK CLICKS

* NHL announces changes to Draft Lottery format
* Canadiens games postponed through March 28 due to COVID-19 protocols
* Kurtis Gabriel, coach Bob Boughner fined for altercation before Sharks game
* Kings in West playoff mix thanks to accelerated rebuild
* Rookie Watch: Pius Suter, Kevin Lankinen, Zach Whitecloud among undrafted standouts

HONDA WEST DIVISION SHOWDOWNS HIGHLIGHT TRIPLEHEADER ON NBCSN
Wednesday gets an early start as two contests feature a pre-7 p.m. ET puck drop, including the Ducks and Wild who open a tripleheader on NBCSN.

* Minnesota owns a 9-0-0 record over its last nine games at Xcel Energy Center and aims to become the first team this season to post a double-digit win streak at home. Kirill Kaprizov has found the score sheet in seven of nine contests through the current streak and leads the club in both home goals and points since the run began on Jan. 31 (6-3—9).

* Pittsburgh looks to improve to 3-0-0 against Buffalo this season, while the visitors enter Wednesday’s clash at PPG Paints Arena aiming to snap a 14-game winless streak (0-12-2). Sidney Crosby (474-821—1,295 in 1,015 GP), who sits five regular-season points shy of becoming the fastest active skater and eighth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,300, has 22-43—65 in 44 career games against the Sabres (1.48 P/GP) – his 65 points trail only Jason Spezza (23-49—72 in 66 GP) for the highest such total among active players.

* Los Angeles looks to rebound from a 2-1 loss to San Jose on Monday as the teams are set to go head-to-head for a fourth time this season (LAK: 1-1-1; SJS: 2-1-0). Anze Kopitar (8-29—37 in 31 GP) needs three points to hit 40 on the season and can become the first Kings player to reach the mark in 32 games or fewer since Ziggy Palffy in 2003-04 (15-25—40 in 32 GP).