Los Angeles @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 3, 2019 ) Tampa Bay 6, Los Angeles 2

League-leader Nikita Kucherov reached 100 points for the second straight season last time out and his Tampa Bay Lightning can match that milestone Monday night when they host the struggling Los Angeles Kings. Kucherov scored the only goal as the NHL-best Lightning (98 points) pulled out a 2-1 shootout victory over Buffalo on Thursday to extend their winning streak to eight - one off the club record set in 2016.

Kucherov (30 goals, 70 assists) is the fifth player to reach 100 points in 62 games or fewer during one season since 1993-94 and the first since Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat in 1996-97 for the second time in two years. “He was dominant out there tonight,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told reporters of Kucherov after Thursday’s win. “The kid wants to win and wears his emotions on his sleeve. There’s not too much more you can say about him. He’s a remarkable player and he’s having an amazing year.” The Kings have dropped five straight to the Lightning after losing 6-2 in Los Angeles on Jan. 3 and seven in a row overall (0-5-2) following a 6-1 setback at Florida on Saturday with only 19 shots on net - four in the third period. “It’s embarrassing,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty told reporters. “. … The fact that we’re not playing with pride and we’re not working for each other, that’s the scary part about what’s going on right now.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario

ABOUT THE KINGS (23-32-6): Veteran forward Dustin Brown scored the only goal Saturday to tie Ilya Kovalchuk and Alex Iafallo for second on the team with 13, behind only captain Anze Kopitar (17). Kopitar has not scored in six games, but recorded three assists in that span to push his team-leading toal to 44 points while Doughty tops Los Angeles with 28 assists. Jeff Carter (697 career points) has been kept off the scoresheet in six straight contests and fellow forward Tyler Toffoli is pointless in the past five after totaling seven in his previous five games.

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (47-11-4): Kucherov became the first Tampa Bay player to reach 100 points in the season for the second time to lead the league’s top offense, but the team’s defense has also shined during a 10-0-2 run. The Lightning have allowed 18 goals in 12 games this month and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has played a big part with a 7-0-2 record and .958 save percentage in February. Brayden Point (team-best 35 goals) saw his six-game point streak end Thursday and captain Steven Stamkos (33 goals) had a seven-game point run halted against Buffalo.

OVERTIME

1. Los Angeles G Jonathan Quick gave up six goals on 33 shots in the Jan. 3 loss, but is 6-4-1 with a .925 SP all time versus the Lightning.

2. Tampa Bay F Tyler Johnson (21 goals) assisted on Kucherov’s score Thursday to draw within one of 300 points for his career.

3. The Lightning lead the league in power-play percentage (29.8) and the Kings are 30th on the penalty kill after going 5-of-10 the last three games.

PREDICTION: Lightning 5, Kings 1