Alex DeBrincat scored a hat trick as part of a five-point night to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a wild 8-7 win over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Monday.
The offensive barrage started early, as the teams combined for nine goals in the first period. It was the highest-scoring frame in the NHL this season, and the 12th-highest scoring period in league history.
Starting goalies Collin Delia of Chicago (three goals on 10 shots) and Anders Nilsson of Ottawa (four goals on 12 shots) were both pulled before the first period was complete. The Blackhawks’ Cam Ward and the Senators’ Craig Anderson stepped between the pipes for their teams, with Ward stopping 24 of 28 shots to earn his sixth win in his past seven games.
DeBrincat scored twice within a 73-second span in the first period, then found the net again 8:19 into the second period for his 32nd goal of the season. The second-year forward also collected two assists, giving him a career-best five points in a single game.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane recorded a goal and two assists to extend his points streak to 18 games, the longest streak by an NHL player this season. It was also Kane’s 17th straight game with at least one assist, tying him with Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey for the third-longest assists streak in NHL history.
Dylan Strome had a goal and two assists for Chicago. Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and an assist, Gustav Forsling also scored for the Blackhawks, and Duncan Keith had a two-assist night.
Colin White and Thomas Chabot each scored twice for the Senators, with White also recording an assist for a team-leading three points. Mark Stone had a goal and an assist, Bobby Ryan and Rudolfs Balcers produced a goal apiece, and Matt Duchene and Brady Tkachuk each contributed two helpers.
Anderson made 26 saves on the 30 shots he faced. Defenseman Brent Seabrook wasn’t in Chicago’s lineup due to an abdominal injury.
The Blackhawks won for the ninth time in their past 11 games. Chicago has now won its past five meetings with Ottawa, and the Blackhawks improved to 14-3-1 against the Senators since 2007.
Nikita Kucherov continued his torrid scoring pace with his second five-point game this season as the Tampa Bay Lightning won their sixth straight, producing a 5-1 victory over the host Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. The NHL’s scoring leader with 99 points, Kucherov scored two goals and added assists on all three goals by his teammates. He has collected 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in his past five games.
Brayden Point scored twice in the first 46 seconds of the third period – once on the power play – and had an assist, and Steven Stamkos chipped in with a power-play goal.
Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who notched consecutive shutouts against the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens in his previous two starts, made 39 saves. He has stopped 100 of 103 shots in three wins over the Blue Jackets this season. Tampa Bay, which is 8-0-2 in February, swept the three-game season series and outscored Columbus 17-3.
Lukas Sedlak scored for Columbus with 1:45 remaining in the game, and backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo stopped 15 shots in his first start since Feb. 2.
Kucherov, the NHL’s First Star of the Week last week, picked up from there Monday in the first period despite his club being outshot 20-6.
Mikhail Sergachev’s long pass from the defensive end set up Kucherov’s first goal. The defenseman’s pass sparked a two-on-one break led by Yanni Gourde, who deposited a pass that Kucherov roofed in.
The Russian winger added his second goal on a breakaway at 14:24 of the first period for a 2-0 lead. He raced in unassisted and backhanded a shot for his 29th marker and fifth consecutive multi-point game. Both teams lost defensemen to injuries in the period – Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman and Columbus’ Ryan Murray (upper body), who had his first career three-point game Saturday in a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Neither returned to the game.
The Lightning’s top-ranked power play unit produced on Stamkos’ tally at 19:31 of the second period. The goal came four seconds into a five-on-three – Tampa Bay’s eighth marker up two men – after Josh Anderson went off for goalie interference and the Blue Jackets were nailed for too many men on the ice.
Point tallied twice, bringing his goal total to a club-best 35, in the third period’s first minute for the 5-0 lead, and Sedlak scored late to break up Vasilevskiy’s shutout bid.