Kucherov had an assist in a 3-0 win over Washington on Saturday.
Kucherov has eight goals and six helpers during his eight-game point streak to begin the 2024-25 campaign. Unsurprisingly, he ranks among the top scorers in the NHL. Kucherov could be in the running for the Hart Trophy again after finishing as the runner-up last season, but it's very early into the year. Still, his performance has been outstanding, and it's unlikely he will slow down much as the season progresses.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Top sniper in NHL
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Kucherov scored a goal Thursday in a 4-2 loss to the Wild.
Kucherov remains perfect on the season -- he's put up at least one point in each of Tampa Bay's seven games, and he's wired 30 shots on net. His eight goals (13 points) lead the NHL. Kucherov is already among the best Russian players to don an NHL uniform, and at 31, his game is still on the rise.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Season scoring streak at six games
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Kucherov had an assist in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Devils.
It extended his season-opening point streak to six games (seven goals, four assists). Kucherov is already in MVP form with seven goals and five assists in six games played. Expect his pace to slow some and especially his goal rate. Kucherov already has 29 shots, which puts him within reach of a 400-shot season, but his shooting percentage is a whopping 24.1. That's well above his career mark of 14.6. Still, this could be Kucherov's Hart season.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Point streak at five games
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Kucherov notched an assist, four shots on goal and two hits in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs.
Kucherov's four-game, seven-goal streak came to a close Monday, but he's still yet to be held off the scoresheet over five contests. The winger has 10 points, 26 shots on net, five hits and a plus-6 rating. With just three of his points coming on the power play, he could still grow his offense a little more than we've seen so far.
Kucherov extended his season-opening goal streak to four games with a goal in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Senators.
Kucherov became the first player in Lightning history with at least seven goals through their first four appearances of a season. That's heady territory considering the likes of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos have donned the Bolts' uniform. Kucherov has nine points this season, and his seven goals lead the NHL.
Kucherov scored two goals in a 4-3 win over Vegas on Thursday.
The second goal came with less than a minute left and stood as the winner. Kucherov fired the puck from close to the goal line on the left wing, and it ricocheted past Adin Hill. It was the kind of lucky goals that snipers get. Kucherov is riding a three-game, six-goal streak to start the season, and he's totaled seven points. He has 16 shots in those three appearances, and two of his goals were game-winners.
Kucherov scored a goal on five shots and went plus-2 in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Canucks.
Kucherov already has four goals and an assist through two games, and he's added 11 shots on net. The 31-year-old winger has avoided the slow start that's plagued some of the league's other superstars, though that advantage has been mitigated by a limited schedule so far after the Lightning's original home opener was postponed by Hurricane Milton. Kucherov produced a career year in 2023-24 with 44 goals and 100 assists over 81 regular-season appearances. It was also the first time he topped 300 shots on goal (306) and the second time he exceeded 50 power-play points (53). That raises some risk of regression, but Kucherov remains a clear top-five player in the NHL.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Records hat trick Friday
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Kucherov notched a hat trick, including a power-play goal, and added a power-play assist in Friday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.
Kucherov couldn't have hoped for a better start to the season. He was directly involved in the Lightning's four goals while recording a natural hat trick in the third period across a nine-minute span that included two empty-netters. Kucherov had a career-best season in 2023-24 with 44 goals and 144 points across 81 regular-season appearances, and he's looking to take those numbers a step further in 2024-25.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Pots first goal of preseason
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Kucherov scored the Lightning's only goal Wednesday in a 2-1 preseason OT loss to the Panthers.
With Tampa Bay down 1-0 late in the third period, Brayden Point won a faceoff in the Florida zone, and Kucherov blasted the feed past Spencer Knight on a one-timer. It was Kucherov's first goal this preseason, but after posting career highs with 44 goals and 144 points in 2023-24, the 31-year-old appears ready to come out flying out of the gates when the puck drops on the upcoming campaign.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Adds assist in loss
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Kucherov posted an assist and two hits in Monday's 6-1 loss to the Panthers in Game 5.
Kucherov stayed hot in the postseason with seven assists over five games, but he wasn't able to put a puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. The 30-year-old Kucherov had an excellent 2023-24 season despite the early playoff exit, earning 44 goals and 100 assists in 81 regular-season appearances. He should continue to be one of the top right wings in the NHL heading into 2024-25.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Three helpers in Saturday's win
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Kucherov recorded three assists, one on the power play, in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Panthers in Game 4.
Two of the helpers came in the third period as the Lightning put the game away. Kucherov is still looking for his first goal of the postseason, but he's found the scoresheet in all four contests so far while collecting six assists. He may need to come up big again in Game 5 on Monday if Tampa Bay is going to avoid elimination again.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Makes history in finale
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Kucherov scored an even-strength goal and added a power-play assist in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Maple leafs.
His second-period helper on a Brayden Point tally put Kucherov in the history books as the fifth player in NHL history to accumulate 100 assists in a season -- rarified air that was previously only reached by Wayne Gretzky (a mind-boggling 11 times), Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr (once each) before both Kucherov and Connor McDavid did it in 2023-24. Kucherov claimed his second scoring title with a career-high 144 points through 81 games -- his 44 goals were also a personal best. Kucherov will lead the Lightning into the playoffs beginning Sunday against the Panthers.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Approaching historic assist mark
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Kucherov had two assists in a 3-2 shootout loss to Ottawa on Thursday.
Kucherov makes seamless passes look effortless. Kucherov now has 141 points, including 98 assists, to lead the NHL in scoring. He has put up five straight multi-point games (one goal, 13 assists). Kucherov and the Bolts have three games left, and the winger has a very real chance to hit the century mark in assists by season's end. Wayne Gretzky (11 times), Mario Lemieux (1988-89) and Bobby Orr (1970-71) are the only NHLers to have recorded triple-digit assists in a season.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Fourth straight three-point game
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Kucherov notched three assists - one on the power play - in Tuesday's 5-2 victory over the Blue Jackets.
Kucherov gathered three primary assists in the contest, one on the opening score, one on the power play and finally one on the empty-netter to put the game to rest. Not only does Kucherov have four straight three-point games, but he is riding a seven-game point streak in which he has two goals and 13 assists. He currently holds the lead in the scoring race with 139 points, two points ahead of Nathan MacKinnon.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Three helpers in Pittsburgh
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Kucherov picked up three assists, two on the power play, in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Penguins.
The 30-year-old winger has his sights set on the Art Ross Trophy. Kucherov has reeled off three straight three-point performances and has failed to get onto the scoresheet only once in the last 20 games, erupting for seven goals and 42 points over that stretch. He leads the NHL scoring race with 136 points (43 goals, 93 assists), putting him five points up on Nathan MacKinnon and six points clear of Connor McDavid.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Second straight three-point game
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Kucherov put up a goal and two assists Thursday in a 7-4 win over Montreal.
It was Kucherov's second straight three-point game and his 21st of the season. He extended his NHL-leading point total to 133 (43 goals, 90 assists). Kucherov also leads the NHL with 47 power-play points, three ahead of Nathan MacKinnon. But Mack is in hot pursuit of both the overall points lead and power-play points lead. The Art Ross Trophy title is going to come right down to the wire.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Reaches 130 points with three helpers
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Kucherov collected three assists in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.
The 30-year-old winger had a helper in each period to power the Bolts to their fourth win in the last five games. Kucherov is on a massive heater to close out the campaign, erupting for four goals and 23 points over the last 10 games, and he's the first player in the NHL to get to 130 points on the season. Kucherov sits three points up on Nathan MacKinnon in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with a game in hand, but Connor McDavid is only four points back of Kucherov and has two extra games to play. Expect the battle for the NHL scoring lead to go down to the wire.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Continues on career-best pace
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Kucherov picked up two assists Saturday in a 4-1 victory over the Islanders.
Kucherov now sits second in league scoring with 126 points, one point behind Nathan MacKinnon and one ahead of Connor McDavid. With nine games remaining, Kucherov will undoubtedly shatter his career-best mark of 128 points set in 2018-19. That was the season Kucherov won the Hart, Ted Lindsay and Art Ross Trophies. It's a tight race this season, but he will contend for the major awards again.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Sets career high with empty-netter
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Kucherov scored an empty-net goal on two shots in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Bruins.
Kucherov saw a 13-game point streak end in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Ducks. He nearly went two games without a point, but he was able to bury an empty-netter in the final minute to avoid his first multi-game drought since Oct. 30-Nov. 2. He's up to a career-high 42 goals, 124 points, 276 shots on net, 40 hits and a plus-7 rating through 71 appearances this season.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Sets up equalizer
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Kucherov notched an assist and three shots on goal in Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Kings.
Kucherov's point streak was hanging in the balance late, but he extended it to 13 games when he set up Steven Stamkos' equalizer in the final minute. During the streak, Kucherov has five goals and 24 assists. The winger is at 41 goals, 82 assists, 269 shots on net and a plus-6 rating through 69 contests overall.
