EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had two goals and two assists to take the NHL scoring lead from Edmonton star Connor McDavid in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-2 victory over the Oilers on Saturday night.
Kucherov scored his 39th and 40th goals and had his 77th and 78th assists to push his season points total to 118. McDavid had his 38th goal to get to 116. Kucherov has 12 points in his last three games and 22 in his last eight.
Anthony Cirelli also scored twice, Jake Guentzel added a goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for Tampa Bay. Second in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning have won three in a row and four of five.
Josh Samanski also scored for Edmonton, and Connor Ingram stopped 22 shots. Second in the Pacific, the Oilers have lost two in a row.
The Lightning took a 3-1 lead with three minutes left in the second period. Kucherov emerged from the penalty box at the end of the first half of an Edmonton five-on-three advantage. and J.J. Moser sprung him on a breakaway for his first career short-handed goal.
McDavid is just shy of three milestones. He’s a goal away from 400, an assist from 800 and two points short of 1,200.
Up next
Lightning: At Calgary on Sunday night.
Oilers: At Utah on Tuesday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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