The Tampa Bay Lightning's Ross Colton admittedly could not believe his eyes when he scored the winning goal against the Florida Panthers in a 2-1 victory, to take a 2-0 lead in their playoff series.
Colton was called onto the ice with under a minute remaining in the third period and the score locked at 1-1, but abandoned caution and made his way towards the net as Nikita Kucherov retrieved the puck.
Kucherov found Colton as he approached the net with an astonishing backhand, no-look flick off the boards as the Panthers defence converged onto him, leaving Colton with the relatively simple finish to win the game.
Colton's look of near-bewilderment almost said as much but he confirmed his awe at the 28-year-old Russian's assist afterwards.
“I couldn’t believe he [Kucherov] got it on my stick,” Colton said. “I think when we went in the corner, I just said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ like 10 times because I honestly couldn’t believe he put it on my stick.
"When you’re on the ice with Kuch, you’ve got to be ready for anything. He’s got eyes in the back of his head, because I don’t even know how he could tell I was there."
The Lightning were relentless defensively against one of the NHL's best attacking teams this season, snuffing out four Panthers power plays, including one with under five minutes remaining.
While singling out Kucherov as a "special, special player", Lightning coach Jon Cooper asserted the defensive performance and ability to snatch games in clutch moments was a reflection of the team's character.
“No, I’m not surprised,” Cooper said. “I’m just surprised they waited until 3.8 seconds left to do it.”
In Thursday's other result, the St. Louis Blues evened up their series with the Colorado Avalanche, winning 4-1.
Montgomery revels in Bruins victory over Canadiens to mark second-highest season win total
Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery hailed his side for rising to the challenge of a tough schedule to beat the Montreal Canadiens.
A 4-2 win at TD Garden marked a fifth consecutive victory for the Bruins and saw the team hit the 55-win mark, their second-highest all-time total behind only the 57 wins secured by the 1970-71 side.
The Bruins' fine run has highlighted their resilience, having endured a two-game skid prior to their current streak, with no side in the NHL currently having a longer win streak.
Having already secured their playoff berth, the Bruins are looking to maintain their momentum heading into the postseason and Montgomery was delighted by the result, though admitting his team were not at their best.
"Happy that we got the two points. It's a tough league to win in," he told reporters after Thursday's win. "I know we've won a lot this year, but it really is.
"With the schedule as challenging as it is right now – we're playing four games a week, and it's four in six nights consecutively for five weeks – we're not going to have the most energy we usually do have.
"I don't think we skated very well tonight, but it's understandable at times. You've got to give credit to those guys. We find a way to win hockey games.
"It's not an easy league to win in, and we find ways to do it. That's the positive side of things."
David Pastrnak was again on form for the Bruins, hitting his 49th goal of the season to represent his best campaign and tie him with Ken Hodge for eighth-highest scorer all-time for the Bruins with 289.
The 26-year-old was not focused on his display, however, and simply enjoyed the rivalry clash against the Canadiens.
"This is the kind of game where the only thing you think about is getting the win," Pastrnak said.
"These games against Montreal never get old. It doesn't really matter where in the standings each team is. It brings so much history.JI
"It's a big win. When Montreal and the Bruins play, both teams are gonna play hard."
Hurricanes produce yet another late comeback to continue historic season
The Carolina Hurricanes secured their first back-to-back 100-point seasons in franchise history on Tuesday as they scored three in the third period to defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 on the road.
With the victory, the Hurricanes improved their record to 46-15-8 – trailing only the 54-11-5 Boston Bruins for the league's top mark – and 69 games is the fewest needed to reach 100 points in franchise history.
Adding to their historic night, Carolina set another franchise record with their 10th third-period comeback of the season.
Despite the action-packed finish, it was a defensive grind through two periods as an early goal from New York's Tyler Motte was the only score heading into the last.
Jalen Chatfield equalised nine minutes into the third period, but Kaapo Kakko put the Rangers back in front 2-1 just 31 seconds later.
The hectic scoring sequence was not over, as Stefan Noesen made it 2-2 only 18 seconds after the restart, setting up Teuvo Teravainen for the Hurricanes' winner with 2:33 remaining.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he was inspired by the way his team refused to drop their heads after going down.
"I thought it was a great effort, right from the start," he told reporters. "We didn't come off of it. We had a game plan and the guys knew what we needed to do.
"They've got a high-offense team, so we were trying to limit their chances. Everybody – all 20 guys – contributed in this win.
"Even though it wasn't looking good for most of the game, we were down, then we tied it up and they got another right away, I just loved the way we [shook it off], next shift.
"It was great to tie it up and then get the late one. We got what we deserved tonight, for sure."
Offseason acquisition Brent Burns also got in on the history-making fun, adding to his franchise record for points by a defenseman (53) with the game-winning assist, and he pointed to Brind'Amour's system as the catalyst for his terrific year.
"The system has been great," he said. "We play with a deep team and we just roll. It's been a lot of fun.
"I've said it before, but it's a great group, and a special group. It's been a lot of fun to try and come in and find a place."
Chatfield pointed to how previous comebacks have given the Hurricanes "more confidence" when faced with difficult situations, and they trust what they are doing as a unit.
"We know what we've got in this locker room, and we know how we want to play every night," he said.
"To be able to match up against these guys, another great team, [is great]. We lost the first two to them, so to be able to get this one feels nice. We just have to keep going from there."
Hat-trick hero Kane hails 'big points' as Oilers edge Kraken in tight Pacific Division playoff chase
Evander Kane underlined his value to the Edmonton Oilers with a hat-trick in their 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken but he was more pre-occupied with what the victory meant to their playoffs hopes.
The Western Conference playoff chase is tight, with the Oilers edging ahead of the Kraken into third in the Pacific Division with Saturday's victory where they scored twice in every period in Seattle.
Edmonton are 39-23-8 on the back of three straight wins, just ahead of the Kraken (38-24-7) in the final automatic playoff spot from the Pacific Division. The Las Vegas Golden Knights (42-21-6) and Los Angeles Kings (40-20-9) lead the division.
Kane's hat-trick came from only three shots, marking his second three-goal performance of the season and fifth in his past 49 appearances.
"It's nice to help contribute to an important win," Kane said. "Big points with the division so tight.
"This is probably the tightest I've seen it with respect to the entire conference, both divisions, where you can literally be in first place in the Western Conference, or you could be in a Wild Card spot within a matter of a week. It's still tight.
"There are still very important games down the stretch left to be played, and I think it's a great opportunity for our group to enjoy that type of challenge and get you ready for the post-season."
"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."
Kane has only played in 29 of the Oilers' 70 games this campaign due to injuries, with coach Jay Woodcroft delighted to see him back at close to his best.
"Happy for him," Woodcroft said. "He's a warrior. He plays through injuries. He's just getting up and running again just because of his injuries and whatnot.
"It's kind of been a start-and-stop season for him, but he's been all around the puck in any game that he's played and for three to go in for him tonight, I was happy for him."
Kane's return to form and fitness has aided star man Connor McDavid, who had a goal and two assists, bringing up 134 points for the season.
"That's part of my job is to be productive for this group," Kane said. "Obviously we have two of the best players in the world, but they can't carry a team and win a championship. You need everyone pulling their weight.
"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."
McDavid's 134 points are the seventh-most points by a player in the past 30 years, while his performance was his 20th three-point game of the season.
Zach Hyman also added a goal and an assist, recording his first 30-goal season. He is the fourth Oilers player to reach that mark this season, the first time the franchise has achieved that since 1989-90.
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