TBL@NJD: Kucherov, Point combine for opening goal

NEWARK, N.J. --Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists to extend his point streak to 10 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday.

Kucherov has 24 points (five goals, 19 assists) during his streak, including eight multipoint games.
Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, and Louis Domingue made 26 saves for Tampa Bay (20-7-1), which is 8-2-0 in its past 10 games and has scored at least four goals in six of its past seven.
"People don't realize how tough it is to produce in this League, especially when you're a top guy like that and have guys on the other team trying to stop you," Stamkos said. "It's difficult and sometimes the confidence isn't always there, but when you have it, you try to keep it as long as possible.
"You can tell Kucherov] wants the puck, he's demanding it, and he's making plays. It's the most confident I've seen him this season."
***[WATCH: [All Lightning vs. Devils highlights
| NHL Tonight crew talks benching of Taylor Hall]*
Egor Yakovlev scored his first NHL goal for New Jersey (9-12-5), which lost its sixth straight game (0-3-3) and was outscored by the Lightning 18-6 in three games this season (0-3-0).
Keith Kinkaid allowed four goals on 20 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Cory Schneider, who made five saves.
Tyler Johnson gave the Lightning a 3-0 lead at 8:20 of the second period on a tip in the slot, but Yakovlev scored off a cross-ice pass in the left circle at 11:26 to cut it to 3-1.
"The [Johnson-Point-Kucherov] line is playing well," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They're just always around it and doing all the right things. And then top it off with the skill and compete and all that, as a group they're playing well and being rewarded for it."
Yanni Gourde redirected a pass from Stamkos five-hole on Kinkaid to make it 4-1 at 12:39.
Stamkos scored a power-play goal 20 seconds into the third period to extend the lead to 5-1.

TBL@NJD: Point sets up Stamkos for PPG early in 3rd

Kucherov used Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen as a screen from the top of the left circle to beat Kinkaid glove side inside the right post to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 13:31 of the first period.
Point scored his 20th goal of the season on the power play to make it 2-0 at 19:34. He is tied with Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres for second in the NHL behind Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets (21).
"[Kucherov] is so easy to play with because he sees the ice so well," Point said. "He has such good skill and can get the puck to you in good spots. I'm just trying to find spots for him."
Devils forward Taylor Hall was minus-2 in 16:17 of ice time, but was benched for the final 7:21 of the second period.
"Like everything, sometimes you're playing guys who are going, and sometimes you're not," Devils coach John Hynes said. "There are lots of nights when Taylor Hall gets a lot of ice time. [Monday] we felt there were some other players playing a little bit better."

TBL@NJD: Yakovlev goes bar down for first NHL goal

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They said it

"You look at some of the guys that have been added this season like Mathieu Joseph and Anthony Cirelli, and Yanni Gourde, J.T. Miller and Ondrej Palat returning, and then what Kucherov and Point have been able to do. We have a really deep team and I think that creates a lot of matchup problems for other teams. When you can have the special teams going like we have this year, to go along with four lines that can roll, it's tough on opponents." -- Lightning captain Steven Stamkos
"If you take the three games against Tampa Bay, I think you have to give them credit. They're a heck of a hockey team, but they just outworked us. They're a cap team, have excellent players, high skill, but what those guys did for three games was outwork us."-- Devils coach John Hynes

Need to know

It was the 100th multipoint game for Kucherov in the NHL (sixth four-point game). He is one game shy of tying his career-high point streak he set from Oct. 6-26, 2017. Stamkos holds the Lightning record with an 18-game streak from Jan. 19-March 11, 2010. … New Jersey last lost at least six straight from Dec. 29, 2017-Jan. 13. ... Point has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak. ... The Devils went 0-for-4 on the power play and are 1-for-19 in the past six games. ... Devils forward Jesper Bratt did not play because of an illness. … Tampa Bay is the sixth team since 1977-78 to be the first to win 20 games in consecutive seasons.

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What's next

Lightning:At the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, SUN, NHL.TV)
Devils:At the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, MSG+, NHL.TV)

Kucherov, Point lead Lightning to 5-1 win vs. Devils