The Nashville Predators rode a three-goal first period to a 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

With the win, the Predators reached the 100-point mark for the sixth time in franchise history. They also passed the Tampa Bay Lightning - who fell to the Ottawa Senators 7-4 on Tuesday - to take over first place in the overall standings.

The Lightning have 100 points on the season as well, but they've played one more game than the Predators.

This marks the fewest games (69) it has taken the Predators to reach 100 points in a season, beating the mark set by the club during the 2006-07 campaign when it reached the milestone in the 73rd game.

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Who could have seen this coming?

After a disastrous run with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and a not-much-better showing as part of the Florida Panthers, Antti Niemi has seemingly found his game since joining the Montreal Canadiens.

The veteran 'tender, and former Stanley Cup winner, has turned back the clock since arriving in Montreal, where he's posted five wins and a stellar .933 save rate through 14 appearances.

Even more impressive is that Niemi is putting together such a performance on a club that finds itself in the bottom-third of the standings.

Furthering his comeback story, Niemi's latest victory came Tuesday as he turned aside 36 shots to guide the Canadiens to a 4-2 win over his former club, the Dallas Stars, the same team that tossed him aside last summer. Call it a night of redemption.

Only a few months ago, all signs pointed to Niemi's NHL career being on borrowed time. But given his bounce-back with the Canadiens, that may no longer be the case, as the pending unrestricted free agent will be an intriguing option this summer for teams in search of a reliable second-stringer.

No doubt Niemi will stand out from the crowd in free agency given the crop offers realistic backup options like Jonathan Bernier, Eddie Lack, and Chad Johnson. It's the sort of competition that will have teams once again betting on Niemi when the calendar turns to July.

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Andrew Shaw was forced to exit Tuesday's game following a heavy hit on Dallas Stars defenseman Greg Pateryn.

Shaw collided with Pateryn along the boards in the third period, and the Montreal Canadiens forward went to the dressing room after being helped off the ice.

Here's a slo-mo look from a different angle:

Pateryn was given a roughing minor for taking a couple of shots at Shaw while the Canadiens agitator laid on the ice after the hit.

Shaw has a history of concussions, and opened up to Sportsnet's Eric Engels last year about trying to conceal them in the past.

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Don't ever count out the Boston Bruins.

After falling behind 4-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes with less than 10 minutes to play in the third period, the Bruins went off for three goals in just 1:17 to tie the game at 4-4.

They weren't done there.

Four minutes later, David Pastrnak scored his second of the period, as his one-timer on the power play gave Boston a 5-4 lead. Then, with 1:34 left on the clock, Pastrnak fired a puck into the empty net to collect his first career hat trick and cap off the five-goal onslaught for a 6-4 victory.

This marks the sixth time in franchise history that the Bruins have rallied from a third-period deficit of three or more goals to win in regulation.

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Don't ever count out the Boston Bruins.

After falling behind 4-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes with less than 10 minutes to play in the third period, the Bruins went off for three goals in just 1:17 to tie the game at 4-4.

They weren't done there.

Four minutes later, David Pastrnak scored his second of the period, as his one-timer on the power play gave Boston a 5-4 lead. Then, with 1:34 left on the clock, Pastrnak fired a puck into the empty net to collect his first career hat trick and cap off the five-goal onslaught for a 6-4 victory.

This marks the sixth time in franchise history that the Bruins have rallied from a third-period deficit of three or more goals to win in regulation.

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The Winnipeg Jets' big trade-deadline acquisition was a last-minute scratch Tuesday night ahead of a key battle with the Nashville Predators.

Paul Stastny was originally listed as part of the Jets' lineup, but was later changed to a scratch.

He left the warmup early and was replaced by Shawn Matthias, according to the Winnipeg Sun's Ken Wiebe. Matthias was activated off injured reserve earlier in the day.

Stastny has eight points in seven games for Winnipeg since being acquired from the St. Louis Blues on deadline day.

The Jets now have eight injured players, including Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, and Toby Enstrom.

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Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber will be sidelined for six months after undergoing foot surgery Tuesday.

The veteran defenseman has been out for more than three months, with his last appearance coming Dec. 16. Last month, the club elected to shut down Weber for the remainder of the season.

The recovery time frame could see Weber ready to return for next year's training camp.

In his second season with the Canadiens, Weber tallied 16 points in 26 games.

The 32-year-old is signed through the 2025-26 campaign.

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Brad Marchand is back.

The Boston Bruins forward returned to the lineup on Tuesday night versus the Carolina Hurricanes after missing Sunday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury.

Marchand looked to be injured in a collision with Blackhawks forward Anthony Duclair in Saturday's contest.

The 29-year-old leads the Bruins in scoring with 28 goals and 69 points in 53 games.

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A significant shakeup in the football world will apparently have ramifications in hockey.

Tod Leiweke is leaving his post as NFL chief operating officer after three seasons in the role, commissioner Roger Goodell revealed in a letter to team executives Tuesday, as shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

He will be succeeded by Maryann Turcke, the president of NFL Media.

Leiweke, the brother of former MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke, is expected to join the Oak View Group in a top executive position, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports.

OVG is overseeing the renovation of Seattle's KeyArena and is seeking to bring an NHL franchise to the city. Tim Leiweke is the group's CEO.

Tod Leiweke was touted as a possible successor to Goodell, according to Baker, but the commissioner recently inked a five-year extension. Leiweke has experience in the NHL, having spent five years as CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning before joining the NFL head office.

He served as CEO of the Seattle Seahawks from 2003-10.

The NHL hasn't officially awarded Seattle an expansion franchise, but OVG and its partners, including legendary Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer and investment company billionaire David Bonderman, began a season-ticket drive on March 1, securing 10,000 deposits in the first 12 minutes.

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Former first-round draft pick Trent Frederic has put pen to paper on a deal with the Boston Bruins.

The University of Wisconsin product signed his entry-level contract with Boston on Tuesday, along with an amateur tryout agreement that will see him join the AHL's Providence Bruins for the remainder of the 2017-18 season.

Boston selected Frederic with the 29th pick in 2016. The 20-year-old forward tallied 32 points in 36 games with Wisconsin this season.

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