Steven Stamkos continues his quest to be the NHL's second 60-goal scorer of the 21st century Wednesday night when his Tampa Bay Lightning play at the Montreal Canadiens.
By Kim Klement, US Presswire
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos celebrates one of his two goals against the Washington Capitals Monday. He had eight goals in his last six games.
By Kim Klement, US Presswire
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos celebrates one of his two goals against the Washington Capitals Monday. He had eight goals in his last six games.
Counting Wednesday's game (7:30 p.m., ET), Stamkos has three games remaining to score two goals to join Alex Ovechkin (65 in 2007-08) as the only players to reach the mark over the past 12 years. Stamkos would be the first North American player to reach 60 goals since Mario Lemieux had 69 in 1995-96.
"What makes him so prolific is that his game has evolved," said former Calgary Flames general manager Craig Button, now an NHL Network analyst. "When you come into the league, you adjust to the league. And then as you have success, opponents start to adjust to you and then you have to re-adjust."
Button says Stamkos' ability to run away with the Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy race speaks to his ability to keep improving as a scorer.
"It's like shedding your skin. You have to shed your old skin and grow new skin," Button said. "Probably a year ago or a year and a half ago, you started to see Stamkos score goals in a lot of different ways."
Button thinks Stamkos is a more well-rounded scorer than he was when he entered the NHL in 2008-09.
"When I (use) to think of Steven Stamkos, the image I have of him is Brett Hull-like, at the left wing dot, firing pucks past goaltenders," Button said. "I equate him to the power pitcher in baseball. The batter knows the fastball is coming, and now it's up to him to catch up to it. Goalies knew what was coming, but Stamkos still overwhelmed people."
Today, says Button, Stamkos has rounded out his scoring repertoire.
"He scores goals around the net now," Stamkos said. "He scores goals off the rush. He scores scores off give-and-go plays. And he's still dangerous with his shot. He has a lethal shot."
Stamkos has had some success against all of his remaining opponents. He has two goals in three games against Montreal, one goal in three games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and three goals in five games against the Winnipeg Jets.
The best game Wednesday night in terms of playoff implications is the Detroit Red Wings at the St. Louis Blues (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).
The Blues trail the Vancouver Canucks by one point in the race for top seed in the Western Conference. St. Louis has the edge in non-shootout wins.
The Red Wings trail the Nashville Predators by one point in the scrap for fourth place in the Western Conference. Finishing fourth comes with home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Red Wings need one point to reach 100 points for the 12th consecutive season.
"It just shows you, in that aspect, you do a lot of winning through the years," Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard said after an optional morning skate. "For us to be able to reach that again this year, it says a lot about the way we play."
Contributing: Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press
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