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Nikita Kucherov cannot be stopped.

The Tampa Bay Lightning superstar racked up four points Thursday night in the 6-0 victory over the Dallas Stars, just two days after picking up a goal and three assists against the Calgary Flames. In total, the 25-year-old has 11 points in his last three contests.

Kucherov's recent hot streak is helping him pull away in the Art Ross Trophy race, as he now has 92 points in 58 games. The Russian is now on pace for 130 points - a mark that hasn't been reached since 1995-96, when Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux racked up 149 and 161 points, respectively.

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Jeff Skinner's representatives and the Buffalo Sabres are working on a new contract for the productive forward.

Both sides are "solely focused" on getting an extension done, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports. He adds that Skinner's camp and the Sabres are having "some good conversations," but there's still work to be done.

Unlike the situation with Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and the Ottawa Senators, the trade deadline isn't a factor in the Skinner negotiations because he has a full no-move clause and there's been no indication he wants to go anywhere else, according to LeBrun.

Skinner is in the final season of the six-year, $34.35-million pact he inked with the Carolina Hurricanes in summer 2012.

He'll likely receive a sizable raise, as entering Thursday's action the winger ranks second in the NHL with 34 goals in 56 games.

Buffalo acquired the 26-year-old from the Hurricanes last offseason in exchange for prospect Cliff Pu and three draft picks.

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Eric Staal has a 10-team no-trade list in his contract, and he's taking full advantage of it.

The Minnesota Wild forward is an unrestricted free agent after this season, but his no-trade list is "vastly populated with all the obvious contenders," TSN's Pierre LeBrun said on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."

Without a contract beyond this season, non-contenders won't be looking to acquire Staal, giving Wild general manager Paul Fenton limited options if he chooses to shop the veteran forward ahead of the Feb. 25 trade deadline.

Earlier Thursday, The Athletic's Michael Russo reported that Fenton was given the green light to trade members of the team's core, including Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, and Jonas Brodin, even if it means ultimately missing the postseason.

Staal was adamant about his willingness to stay in Minnesota following Thursday's practice.

"The way I see it: We're in a playoff spot, and I plan on making the playoffs … here," Staal told Russo. "My goal is to be here - hopefully not somewhere else - and to help us win a playoff spot and continue on."

Staal's only other trade deadline experience wasn't pleasant. In 2016, he was shipped from the Carolina Hurricanes to the New York Rangers and picked up just six points in 20 games with the Blueshirts, ending the worst season of his career on a sour note.

The 34-year-old is one year removed from a 42-goal campaign and has tallied 17 goals and 37 points in 56 games thus far this season.

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Evgeni Malkin has mixed feelings about whether he deserved the suspension he served for high-sticking Michael Raffl.

"Yes and no," the Pittsburgh Penguins star told reporters, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey, on Thursday. "One game probably, it’s OK. I play dangerous. My stick went high. My point (to the NHL's Department of Player Safety) was that I didn’t touch his face. I touched his shoulder. I think (he dove)."

Malkin was forced to sit out Wednesday's win over the Edmonton Oilers after swinging his stick up high on the Philadelphia Flyers forward during Monday's game.

Prior to receiving the one-game ban, Malkin defended his actions, admitting it was "a little bit dangerous," but saying, "it's not like I broke his face."

Flyers head coach Scott Gordon called it a "baseball swing," when asked about it Thursday.

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Paul Fenton has been given the go-ahead to shake up his team's roster.

The Minnesota Wild general manager "has essentially been given the green light to do whatever he sees fit to improve this team either now or for the future heading into the trade deadline," The Athletic's Michael Russo reports.

Fenton has the ability to trade members of the core - including players such as Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, and Jonas Brodin - even if the club ultimately misses the playoffs as a result, according to the report.

Sources told Russo that the Wild's current position has changed from make the playoffs at all costs to "everything's on the board," with the only untouchables likely being Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, the injured Matt Dumba and Mikko Koivu, young players Jordan Greenway, Luke Kunin, and Kirill Kaprizov, and their first- and second-round picks in this year's draft.

Minnesota enters Thursday's action occupying the second Western Conference wild-card spot, but has lost six of seven games since the break.

The Wild have made the playoffs in each of the past six campaigns but have failed to advance past the second round in any of those postseason appearances and have been bounced from the first round in each of the past three years.

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Philadelphia Flyers interim head coach Scott Gordon thinks ​​​​Evgeni Malkin got off easy with a one-game suspension.

The league handed the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar a one-game ban Tuesday for high-sticking Flyers forward Michael Raffl during Monday's contest.

"It wasn't a high stick. It was a baseball swing," Gordon said, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. "Just because you didn't connect doesn't mean it wasn't vicious. I don't think he should be rewarded just because he didn't connect."

Before the NHL's Department of Player Safety disciplined Malkin, the 32-year-old suggested he didn't deserve to be suspended since he didn't hit Raffl in the face with his stick.

Malkin missed Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He will be eligible to return to the lineup Saturday when the Penguins host the Calgary Flames.

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Bruce Boudreau is calling his shot.

Despite the Minnesota Wild losing six of their last seven games, the team's head coach is feeling confident about playing extra games this spring.

"We're going to make the playoffs," Boudreau said, according to Sarah McLellan of the Star Tribune. "That's about as elaborate as I want to get. You want me to predict how many wins we're going to have in the last month and a half? No. But we're going to make the playoffs."

The Wild currently sit in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference amid an extremely tight playoff race. The team is just two points back of the St. Louis Blues for the first wild-card position, but also only two points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.

For his part, Boudreau appears more optimistic about his roster than he did a week ago. Following a loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the coach told reporters, "There's some guys there that just are a shell of the players that I've known for two-and-a-half years."

The Wild will look to get back in the win column on Friday against the New Jersey Devils - the only team they've defeated this month.

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The Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers have been in talks about a potential trade involving goaltender Cam Talbot, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Dreger notes the talks are believed to be "preliminary" in nature but are "definitely" taking place.

Other teams have considered trading for Talbot, including the Carolina Hurricanes, who had internal discussions "weeks ago," according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Talbot has seen his workload diminish significantly this season with the emergence of Mikko Koskinen. He's played just 31 games, going 10-15-3 with a .893 save percentage and a 3.36 goals-against average.

The 31-year-old is in the final year of a three-year, $12.5-million contract and will become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

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