The Lightning's historic season is now starting to include players hitting individual milestones. Nikita Kucherov picked up his 126th point on Thursday against the Maple Leafs when he scored his 40th goal of the season. The point total is the highest in the salary cap era (2005 onward), topping Joe Thornton's 125 from the 2005-06 season.
While Wayne Gretzky's single-season scoring achievements may never be topped (in fact, we may not ever see another player hit 200 points), the modern era has seen some players put up crazy totals. Kucherov's season has been remarkable by any measure, though.
Kucherov also became the third player to reach 40 goals this season for the Lightning, joining Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point. Tampa looks unstoppable this year, as it's already locked up the President's Trophy and will be favored throughout the postseason. It goes without saying that anything can happen in the playoffs, but the Lightning have been a machine.
It's Kucherov's second straight 100-plus point season. He just barely hit the century mark last year. Now, with one game left to play, he's on the cusp of breaking Jaromir Jagr's record for most assists by a winger in a single season, trailing Jaromir Jagr's 87.
The Lightning play the Bruins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, where Kucherov try and get two assists to break the record or one to tie it.
