Steven Stamkos collected two goals and two assists to surpass the 100-point plateau on the season Tuesday, fueling the host Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Stamkos, the NHL’s reigning First Star of the Week, recorded at least three points in his fifth consecutive game — just the 10th such streak in league history. The most recent on that list had been Jari Kurri in 1992-93. The record is six consecutive games with three-plus points, shared by Kurri, Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.
The Tampa Bay captain also notched his seventh consecutive multi-point performance to move within one of tying Vincent Lecavalier (2007-08) for the longest such run in franchise history.
Nikita Kucherov scored early in the first period to extend his goal-scoring streak to seven games. The former Hart Trophy recipient added three assists, Ondrej Palat scored a goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves to send the Lightning (50-22-8, 108 points) to their fourth straight win.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored a power-play goal and Elvis Merzlikins turned aside 28 shots for the Blue Jackets (36-37-7, 79 points), who have dropped five of their past six games (1-4-1).
Stamkos unleashed a one-timer off a feed from Kucherov on a power play to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead with 3:13 remaining in the first period.
Stamkos recorded his second goal and third point of the night at 7:29 of the second period to join Lecavalier (2006-07), Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis (2006-07) and Kucherov (2017-18, 2018-19) as the lone players to produce 100-point seasons with the franchise.
Kucherov stripped the puck from defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov before feeding Stamkos, who snapped a shot past Merzlikins for his team-leading 39th goal of the season.
Palat capped the scoring by converting Kucherov’s centering feed with 5:07 remaining in the third period.
Kucherov continued his hot streak by unleashing a shot from between the circles that sailed under Merzlikins’ arm to open the scoring at 1:37 of the first period. The goal was Kucherov’s 24th of the season and ninth during his seven-game goal streak.
Columbus answered 82 seconds later after Jack Roslovic’s feed found Bjorkstrand, who unleashed a one-timer from the left circle that sailed inside the near post. The goal was Bjorkstrand’s 26th of the season, tying him with Patrik Laine for the team lead.
–Field Level Media
