NHL NEWS MARCH 28 – LIGHTNING MOUNT COMEBACK, CLOSE GAP IN EASTERN CONFERENCE

NHL NEWS MARCH 28 – Jonathan Drouin (2-0—2) and Anton Stralman (1-1—2) combined for three goals in a span of 4:39 in the second period and Yanni Gourde scored the first overtime goal of his career (15 GP) to help the Lightning overcome a 4-1 deficit and earn their third straight victory.

Tampa Bay (37-29-9, 83 points) moved within a point of Boston (39-30-6, 84 points) and two points of Toronto (35-24-15, 85 points) – whom they will visit on April 4 and 6, respectively – for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Nikita Kucherov (0-2—2) registered multiple points for the fifth straight game (7-4—11). Kucherov (38-42—80) has recorded career-highs in goals, assists and points, and moved into a share of fourth in League scoring with Brad Marchand (37-43—80). Elias notes that Kucherov is the first Lightning player with five straight multi-point games since Steven Stamkos accomplished the feat from Feb. 9 – March 2, 2010 (5-6—11 in 5 GP).

Victor Hedman (0-3—3) recorded three assists for the fourth time this season to reach the 50-assist plateau for the first time in his career (15-50—65).

NHL NEWS MARCH 28 AND OTHER MUSINGS

• Andreas Athanasiou scored his second overtime goal in as many games to help the Red Wings improve to 5-1-1 in their last seven contests
• Jeff Skinner (1-0—1) scored to extend his goal and point streaks to six and seven games, respectively (8-2—10), while The Hurricanes (33-27-14, 80 points) extended their point streak to 11 games (7-0-4)
• Sabres captain Brian Gionta scored the game-winning goal in his 1,000th NHL contest
• Panthers forward Shawn Thornton (700) and Predators defenseman Roman Josi (400) also skated in milestone games
• Coyotes forward Clayton Keller, a native of Chesterfield, Mo., made his NHL debut in his home state
• Red Wings defenseman Dan Renouf also made his NHL debut
• San Jose’s Micheal Haley was suspended one game for roughing Nashville’s Calle Jarnkrok
• Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf were named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending March 26
• Renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris unveiled portraits of Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr as part of the NHL Centennial Celebration.

MONDAY’S NHL RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
Detroit Red Wings 4, CAROLINA 3 (OT)
BUFFALO 4, Florida 2
Nashville 3, NY ISLANDERS 1
TAMPA BAY 5, Chicago 4 (OT)
ST. LOUIS 4, Arizona 1
CALGARY 4, Colorado 2

TUESDAY’S NHL ACTION
All Times Eastern
Winnipeg @ New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Nashville @ Boston, 7 p.m.
Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Detroit @ Carolina, 7 p.m.
Buffalo @ Columbus, 7 p.m.
Florida @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Dallas @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Washington @ Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Anaheim @ Vancouver, 10 p.m.
NY Rangers @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m.,