Jake Evans scores with 2:15 remaining as the Canadiens close the gap between the teams in the Atlantic Division.

Notches apple Saturday

Here are three reasons to like the Lightning’s new-look power play. Thursday’s moves were transformative, because the personnel and positional changes made it difficult to tell which was the top unit and which was the second. Point men Victor Hedman and Darren Raddysh switched units, with Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel matched with Raddysh.

Kucherov danced his way to the right faceoff dot, pulling a Detroit defender toward him before cutting back to the right center hashmark. Kucherov shelved his shot into the top right corner of the Detroit net for his 21 st goal of the season.

While the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to move up the Eastern Conference standings, their captain Victor Hedman keeps checking off milestones. The Lightning and their hulking defenseman will finish a two-game homestand Saturday night against the sizzling Detroit Red Wings in the opener of four matchups between the Atlantic Division foes.

THROUGH GAMES OF WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22, 2025

And then there was the play of goalie Sam Montembeault. Montembeault denied numerous Grade-A scoring chances to keep the Lightning stuck at two goals. In the third period alone, he stopped 14 shots. His play neutralized the Lightning’s territorial edge.

Paul buried a shot-pass by Brandon Hagel near the net on the power play to make it 4-3 less than two minutes after Knies’ second goal. Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point appeared to tie the game late with a backhand shot that hit the crossbar, but the puck bounced through the crease without crossing the goal line.

Limited cap space and draft capital could affect what the Maple Leafs and Lightning do by the NHL trade deadline, but there are areas where they clearly need a boost.

Montreal got off to a sluggish start on Tuesday against Tampa Bay, trailing by two early in the second. However, they got those back quickly and then Jake Evans potted the winner with just 2:15 in

The Canadiens’ Lane Hutson extended his assist and point streaks (13 points; one goal, 12 assists) to nine games, tying the NHL record for the longest assist streak by a rookie defenseman, set by Shayne Gostisbehere of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015-16.