What do you need to know about last night's big stories? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best. This is where we say, "Morning, Joe."

The return of Ondrej Palat gave the Lightning a boost. Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images

Flashy Lightning: The Tampa Bay Lightning proved Wednesday what type of team they can be when they have a relatively healthy roster. With Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov returning, coach Jon Cooper's reuniting of the "Triplets" line paid dividends as the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime. The trio combined for six points, as Palat scored the tying goal in the waning minutes before Johnson scored the winner in overtime. Erasing a two-goal deficit in the third period for the win to improve to 3-1-1 in their past five games was huge for the Lightning, who are five points back of a wild-card spot. They also received offense from the back end as defenseman Victor Hedman scored a goal and added an assist for his seventh multipoint game of the season. If Tampa can remain healthy and continue rolling -- even without captain Steven Stamkos, who is out at least another two months with a knee injury -- it should find itself gaining on a playoff spot.

Crease quality: When Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scores his league-leading 26th goal to move into a tie with the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid with 42 points, it's big news. But the Penguins improved to 11-1-2 in their past 14 games because of their solid goaltending tandem. After the Penguins won the 2016 Stanley Cup, it was evident Matt Murray would be the team's No. 1 goalie moving forward, leading to a discussion about the future of veteran Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury. The organization quickly realized it needs both goalies to be successful when Murray suffered a broken hand during the World Cup of Hockey and Fleury began the season as the No. 1. When Murray returned to the lineup, he regained his status, but Fleury has been an important part of the team's success. He again is being counted on after replacing the injured Murray -- who left Wednesday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes after the second period with an upper-body injury -- and Fleury made 19 saves to improve to 5-0-1 in his past six games.

Gateway drag: Opponents should stay away from Scottrade Center. The St. Louis Blues are nearly unbeatable on home ice with their 12-1-4 record in their past 17 home games. That's a good sign for a team trying to earn a Stanley Cup playoff berth in the tough Central Division. The Blues' Robby Fabbri scored his first career hat trick en route to a 6-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. He's earned at least one point in seven of his past 10 games, when he has six goals and five assists for 11 points. The Blues are getting contributions throughout the lineup. Vladimir Tarasenko continues to be one of the top point-getters in the league with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points, moving within three points of Crosby and McDavid for the league lead. However, the Blues need to improve their play on the road (5-10-1) if they want to move up the standings.