It's not just fans who are in awe of Nikita Kucherov.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, a two-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard winner himself, couldn't help but gush about his teammate's incredible postseason run after Kucherov's three-point effort Monday night.

"That's one of the best players in the world," Stamkos said, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith. "He's playing like a beast right now. He's so, so good."

With two goals and an assist during Tampa Bay's 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the finals, Kucherov is now up to 30 points across 19 contests in these playoffs. The 28-year-old also recorded 34 points in 25 games last year as the Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

Kucherov is now one of three players to ever notch 30 or more points in consecutive postseasons, joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Remarkably, Kucherov's exploits have come despite offseason hip surgery preventing him from playing a single regular-season game. There's also speculation that he's currently playing hurt after he was limited to just 46 seconds in Game 6 of the third round against the New York Islanders.

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The Montreal Canadiens are getting their NHL draft after all, as the team will host the 2022 event, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Montreal was originally tabbed as the host city for 2020, but the NHL later made proceedings remote amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The league will keep the remote format for this year's draft.

After canceling the plans for the Canadiens to host last year, the NHL assured the club of a future draft.

It will be the city's first time holding it since 2009 and the 10th NHL draft held in Montreal since the league started conducting the event in 1980. Montreal hosted the first five entry drafts from 1980-84 after being the sole home of the NHL's amateur draft from 1963-79.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will host the 2021-22 NHL All-Star Game, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced at his annual Stanley Cup Final press conference on Monday.

Bettman also revealed plans for two outdoor games. The Winter Classic previously scheduled for Jan. 1, 2021 between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild at Target Field in Minneapolis will now take place one year later at that location, and the Nashville Predators will host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium in Tennessee's capital on Feb. 26.

More to come.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have hired a former federal prosecutor to lead an independent review of the sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010, team CEO Danny Wirtz wrote in an internal memo on Monday, according to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus.

“We want to reiterate to you that we take the allegations described in these lawsuits very seriously,” Wirtz wrote. “They in no way reflect this organization’s culture or values.”

In May, an unnamed former Blackhawks player sued the organization and said Aldrich sexually assaulted him and a teammate over a decade ago. Earlier this month, it came out that a former Michigan high school player also sued the franchise. The player says the Blackhawks provided a positive reference letter to future employers despite knowing about the prior sexual assault allegations, according to TSN's Rick Westhead.

Aldrich was previously convicted in Michigan of criminal sexual conduct involving an unnamed student in 2013, according to WBEZ Chicago, which adds that the former coach is a registered sex offender in that state. It's not known if it is the same student who recently sued the Blackhawks.

Last week, former Blackhawks associate coach John Torchetti said Chicago's management group was aware of the allegations the club's former player made against Aldrich, and there was a meeting around the time of the Western Conference Final in 2010 to discuss the matter. However, the team decided not to take further action.

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, who was the director of player personnel for the Blackhawks in 2010, said on Sunday he wasn't involved in the meeting and was unaware of what was happening at the time.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic's Lazerus, Katie Strang, and Scott Powers last week that the league has spoken to the Blackhawks, but the NHL isn't investigating the team right now.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia is a game-time decision for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being cleared from the league's COVID-19 protocol, acting head coach Luke Richardson said Monday.

Armia is en route to Tampa Bay via a private jet since he didn't travel with the team on Sunday. The Canadiens placed the 28-year-old into the COVID-19 protocol for an unknown reason.

Jake Evans - who hasn't played since Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele injured him in the opening game of Round 2 - was in Armia's place on the fourth line during Monday's morning skate.

Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Monday night.

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Ticket prices are skyrocketing for the Montreal Canadiens' first Stanley Cup Final home games since 1993.

As of Monday morning, tickets for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at the Bell Centre were selling on StubHub for a minimum of $5,604 Canadian and going for as high as $30,672. Tickets for Game 4 at the Bell Centre were slightly more expensive while starting at $6,936 and selling for up to $32,925.

Meanwhile, resale tickets for Game 1 at the Tampa Bay Lightning's Amalie Arena on Monday night are selling for as little as $310 American.

Montreal became the first Canadian city to host fans at NHL games during the first round of the playoffs, but the club has limited attendance to 3,500 inside the Bell Centre. The Lightning increased their capacity to 14,800 for the Stanley Cup semifinals.

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Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak announced Monday morning on Instagram that he and his girlfriend, Rebecca Rohlsson, lost their newborn son, Viggo Rohl Pastrnak, last week.

"We have an Angel watching over us and we call him SON," Pastrnak wrote. "You will be loved FOREVER."

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