Stamkos sets Lightning scoring record in win against Maple Leafs

TAMPA -- Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists to become the leading scorer in the history of the Tampa Bay Lightning in an 8-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Stamkos set the record on a one-timer from the left face-off circle to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead at 12:38 of the second period. Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman had assists on the goal.
"It's funny how things work out," Stamkos said. "To do it at home against the team I grew up idolizing. Having 'Kuch' and 'Heddy' assist on a one-time shot. My parents were here, my wife was here ... I don't really think of myself as an emotional guy, but that really hit me. It was just amazing experience for me to have."
Stamkos has 956 points (473 goals, 483 assists) in 917 games, passing Martin St. Louis, who had 953 points (365 goals, 588 assists) in 972 games from 2000-2015. St. Louis narrated a congratulatory tribute video for Stamkos shortly after the goal.
"I can't wait to give him a call," Stamkos said. "Obviously everyone in this room knows what he's meant to me. To be up there in the record books with him is surreal. I will definitely cherish this moment for a long time."

Kucherov's assist on the goal was his 600th NHL point.
"I told him I'm definitely keeping the puck because he's got 600 or 700 more points to come," Stamkos said. "This record may not last that long with Kuch around."
Alex Killorn and Ross Colton each scored twice for the Lightning (46-22-8), who moved three points ahead of the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 35 saves.
Ilya Mikheyev scored for the Maple Leafs (51-21-6), who had won their previous four games. Erik Kallgren made 28 saves.
"To me it was clear that the game meant more to them tonight than it did to us, and it showed in how they played and how they competed," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "That's what happens when that's the case. You get a little sample of how hard you need to play and how well you need to play to be able to beat a team of that quality when they're playing at that level."
Killorn gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 3:54 of the second period with a redirection of a shot from Erik Cernak.
Killorn has 401 points (171 goals, 230 assists) in 718 games, all with the Lightning.
"It means a lot, it's been a great ride," Killorn said. "I've been fortunate that I kind of came in at the right time and things have gone well for us recently. But I'm super excited and I feel like I have a lot of hockey left to play."

Colton extended the lead to 2-0 at 11:37 off a pass from Nicholas Paul. After Stamkos scored, Kucherov made it 4-0 with a power-play goal at 15:07. Kucherov has 601 points (241 goals, 360 assists) in 556 games.
"I really like a lot of the things we did, but don't read too much into it, it's just one game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "A lot of things went our way, we earned a lot of our own breaks, but it's just one game."
Ondrej Palat pushed the lead to 5-0 at 1:12 of the third period with a redirection of a shot from Mikhail Sergachev. Killorn's second goal came off a power play and made it 6-0 at 4:33.
Mikheyev made it 6-1 with a power-play goal at 7:45.
"There are a couple of things we're disappointed in, obviously in the way we played, just not helping out our goaltender," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "Second, it's a good lesson for us going forward to understand just the way we need to play. Obviously against a team like this they don't need a whole lot and the game changed really quickly there in the second period."
Colton's second goal came off a power play at 8:50 to make it 7-1, and Pat Maroon scored his 10th goal of the season at 14:11 for the 8-1 final.
NOTES: Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews missed his third game with an undisclosed injury. Keefe said he is really close to returning. ... Lightning forward Brayden Point was a late scratch with a lower-body injury. He is day to day. ... Kucherov has eight points (five goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. ... Colton has five goals in his past four games.