Brayden Point of Calgary, Alberta, tied the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise record for most points in a game with six points while recording his fourth career National Hockey League hat trick on Thursday. He achieved this with a 6-3 victory for the Lightning over the New York Rangers at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Point had three goals and three assists in the Lightning win. Two other Lightning players scored six points in a game. Defenseman Doug Crossman of Peterborough, Ontario, scored three goals and three assists in the Lightning’s 6-5 victory over the New York Islanders on November 7, 1992, and Nikita Kucherov scored two goals and four assists in the Lightning’s 8-2 victory Lightning over the Carolina Hurricanes on November 24, 2023.
In the Lightning’s win over the Rangers, Point brought the Lightning within one goal (2-1 Rangers) with a goal from Kucherov at 12:41 of the second period. Point then set up Anthony Duclair of Pointe-Claire, Quebec to tie the game 2-0 with one minute and 17 seconds left in the second period. Point scored four of the six points in the third period. Point tied the game at 3:41 through Hedman and Kucherov. Then, at 12:45 p.m., Point helped Steven Stamkos of Markham, Ont., score the game-winning goal on the power play that gave the Lightning a 4-3 lead. At 14:48, Point scored through Kucherov and defenseman Victor Hedman to give the Lightning a 5-3 lead, then set up Kucherov for an empty net with three minutes, 38 seconds left in the third period.
Point’s three previous hat tricks in the NHL were a 4-3 Lightning victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 15, 2018, a 6-4 Lightning victory over the Ottawa Senators on November 4, 2023 and an 8-2 victory -The Lightning’s victory over the Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes on November 24, 2023, when Kucherov had six points. In the 2023-24 season, Point recorded 36 goals and 37 assists for 73 points. He is a -14 with 12 penalty minutes, 24 power play points, eight game-winning goals, 86 shots on goal, 225 face-offs, 36 blocked shots, 13 hits, 29 takeaways and 27 giveaways.
The Lightning have the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. With a record of 35 wins, 25 regular season losses and six overtime losses, they have 76 points and lead the New York Islanders by four points for the final playoff spot.
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