
Friday, 4 a.m.
For now, Victor Hedman has the lead.
Somehow, it doesn’t feel like it will last long.
Hedman recorded his 600th career assist Thursday night, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning win a 4-3 shootout over the Anaheim Ducks. He should enjoy it while he has it. Nikita Kucherov had two assists, and sits at 598 career goals. No Lightning player has matched either figure.
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The Bolts’ Jake Guentzel scored the only goal in the shootout. He also scored in regulation.
Also scoring for the Bolts were Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all three shootout attempts. During the game, he stopped 34 of 37 shots for his 18th victory,
“We’re a really tired group,” Lightning coach Jon Coooer said. “In my tenure here, I can’t remember if we’ve played 16 games in a month. It’s been a grind, but these guys keep answering the bell. It’s not always spretty, but they found a way,”
The Bolts are home Saturday night at Amalie Arena at 7 p.m. against the surging Detroit Red Wings.