NHL Roundup: Bruins Lose Fourth in Row

Boston — Nikita Kucherov had his third career hat trick to lead Tampa Bay to a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, snapping the Lightning’s three-game losing streak.

Jonathan Drouin had a goal and two assists, Brayden Point had a goal and an assist and Anton Stralman also scored to help the Lightning pull three points behind the Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

Peter Budaj finished with 28 saves for the Lightning to earn his 29th win of the season. Ondrej Palat had three assists, and Jake Dotchin and Victor Hedman added two each.

Riley Nash had a goal and an assist for Boston, and David Pastrnak and Zdeno Chara also scored. Tuukka Rask stopped 23 shots as Boston, which won seven of the first eight games under interim coach Bruce Cassidy, has now lost four straight and six of 11.

After a scoreless first period, both teams alternated scoring three times in the second with the Lightning responding to Boston goals 44 seconds, 24 seconds and 1:35 later, respectively.

Nash gave Boston a 3-2 lead with 6:42 left in the middle period, but Stralman roofed a shot over Rask’s left shoulder to tie it with 5:07 remaining.

Drouin put Tampa Bay ahead for good when his slap shot beat Rask at 4:12 of the third. Kucherov followed with two goals, including his second on the power play and an empty-netter with 1:57 remaining to cap the scoring.

Kucherov now has 16 goals and 11 assists in the last 15 games, most in the NHL since Feb. 21.

Notes: Tampa Bay avoided a season-sweep by the Bruins. … Boston’s Patrice Bergeron has one goal in his last 12 games. … Bruins F Brad Marchand has gone three straight without a goal, but is still second overall in the NHL with 37.

Hurricanes 4, Canadiens 1

Montreal — Former Dartmouth College player Lee Stempniak scored twice and the Hurricanes defeated Montreal to extend their point streak to nine games and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Hurricanes, while Eddie Lack stopped 21 shots.

Maple Leafs 4, Devils 2

Toronto — Auston Matthews had two assists and William Nylander had a goal and an assist as the Maple Leafs topped New Jersey for their seventh win in nine games.

Nylander set a franchise rookie mark by extending his points streak to 10 games, while equaling another team record for power-play points with 25.

Capitals 2, Jackets 1 (so)

Washington — T.J. Oshie scored the shootout winner as Washington overcame a stellar performance from Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Despite 44 saves from Bobrovsky, the Capitals reached 104 points and extended their lead atop the Metropolitan Division and NHL standings. Oshie engendered memories of his Sochi Olympic shootout performance by again beating Bobrovsky, the goalie he scored on four times in six chances that day.

Senators 2, Penguins 1 (so)

Ottawa, Ontario — Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan scored in the shootout to lift Ottawa over Pittsburgh.

Mike Hoffman scored in regulation for the Senators and Mike Condon finished with 34 saves, including two incredible point-blank stops in overtime to keep the game going.

Panthers 3, Coyotes 1

Sunrise, Fla. — Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals and James Reimer made 22 saves to lift Florida over Arizona.

Shawn Thornton also scored a goal as the Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak. The Panthers are seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division.

Flyers 3, Wild 1

St. Paul, Minn. — Matt Read scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period, Steve Mason stopped 24 shots and Philadelphia beat Minnesota.

NHL Asked for Decision on Olympics

The NHL may be nearing a deadline to decide whether to allow the world’s best hockey players to participate in the Winter Olympics next year in South Korea.

“I hope we can find a compromise in the next two or three weeks,” International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel told The Associated Press on Thursday in a telephone interview from Russia. “We need to know by the end of April if they’re coming, or not.”

Fasel said leaders of national teams, including those in Canada and Russia, have recently told him they need to know next month if it is time for them to assemble their Plan B rosters. The IIHF is the game’s international governing body and runs hockey tournaments, including those at the Olympics.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has made it clear league owners don’t want to stop their season for three weeks again and put their stars at risk of injury without what they consider a tangible return.

Potential Replacements Contacted

USA Hockey said it will begin reaching out to potential replacement players in case the women’s national team boycotts the upcoming world championships over an ongoing wage dispute.

The organization said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that it’s still prioritizing having the original team on the ice.

But USA Hockey informed players’ representatives that it will be gauging replacement players’ availability for the tournament, which begins March 31 in Plymouth, Mich.

Executive director Dave Ogrean said USA Hockey’s objective remains having the players picked for the team represent the U.S. and called negotiations this week “productive conversations.” The sides met for 10-plus hours in person Monday in an effort to resolve a dispute over wages.

The U.S. is the defending champion.