Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: In action against Flyers
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Kucherov (undisclosed) will be in the lineup versus Philadelphia on Monday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Kucherov will feature in his usual first-line role in addition to linking up with the No. 1 power-play unit. Despite getting hurt versus the Capitals on Saturday, the veteran winger still managed to rack up three points and extend his point streak to five games.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Hurt in Saturday's game
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Kucherov (undisclosed) won't return to Saturday's game versus the Capitals, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports. He finished with one goal and two assists (one on the power play).
Kucherov sustained the injury after a hit early in the second period, and he was unable to get back in the contest. Any potential absence looms large for one of the league's best players. Kucherov's status should be updated prior to Monday's game versus the Flyers. Jack Finley would be the top candidate to enter the lineup if Kucherov misses time, but Nick Paul or Oliver Bjorkstrand would likely get the biggest bumps in ice time.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: One of each Tuesday
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Kucherov tallied a goal, picked up an assist, placed four shots on net and served two PIM in Tuesday's 5-1 win over New Jersey.
Kucherov buried a shot off a no-look pass from Anthony Cirelli to put the Lightning up by a pair. Kucherov also helped out on the final goal of Jake Guentzel's hat trick. The 32-year-old Kucherov has been heating up as of late, with Tuesday's performance raising his point streak to three games. Overall, he has nine goals, 18 points and 52 shots on goal through 17 games this season. The back-to-back Art Ross Trophy winner over the past two seasons has a mountain to climb to get back into the conversation for the award this year, as Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon currently leads the league with 33 points in 19 games. Regardless, Kucherov remains in a strong situation to produce offensively and has plenty of time to reach the 100-point threshold. If he can continue this momentum and score over 100 points, it would be his fourth season in a row hitting the century mark.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Scores vs. Vancouver
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Kucherov scored a goal in Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Canucks.
Kucherov snapped a three-game goal drought with a one-timer from the right circle after a set-up from Darren Raddysh. Kucherov has been a steady scoring weapon for the Lightning throughout his career, and while his numbers haven't been eye-popping so far, he's on pace to reach the 40-goal plateau if he stays healthy. Kucherov has eight goals and 16 total points in 16 appearances so far.
Kucherov scored twice on five shots, added an assist and went plus-2 in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Golden Knights.
Kucherov earned all three points during a four-goal third period for the Lightning. His second goal came on the power play, giving him his first point with the man advantage in six games. The 32-year-old winger is up to seven goals, 14 points (four on the power play), 37 shots on net and a minus-2 rating across 12 outings this season.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Lights lamp early in loss
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Kucherov scored a goal on three shots in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Avalanche.
Kucherov scored just 1:37 into the game, but the Avalanche rattled off the next three goals. The tally was enough to shake off a two-game skid for Kucherov, who had six shots on net and a plus-1 rating in that span. The 32-year-old winger is up to five goals, 11 points, 32 shots on net and a minus-4 rating across 11 appearances this season. A point-per-game pace is nothing to sneeze at, but Kucherov has more offense to give.
Kucherov had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over Nashville on Tuesday.
Kucherov has eight points (two goals, six assists) on a five-game point streak. His offense has picked up sharply of late. He's still way off the pace of any of his last three 100-plus point regular seasons, but Kucherov is too darn talented to worry about.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Nets game-winner in OT
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Kucherov scored the game-winning goal and fired two shots on target in Sunday's 2-1 overtime win against the Golden Knights.
Kucherov played the hero for Tampa Bay as he tallied his first game-winning goal of the season. Overall, the 32-year-old right winger has three goals, eight points and 19 shots on net in seven appearances this season. Sunday's game-winner tied the bow on a historic weekend for Kucherov, who became the second player in Lightning history to reach 1,000 career points. The reigning Art Ross Trophy winner has been a shoo-in for 110 points each of the last three seasons, and Kucherov's current four-game point streak suggests he isn't slowing down offensively.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Hits 1,000 NHL point plateau
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Kucherov put up two assists Saturday in a 4-3 win over the Ducks.
Kucherov surpassed 1,000 points (1,001) with his multi-assist effort. He became the second member of the Lightning to hit that mark, joining Steven Stamkos. Kucherov is also the third-fastest active player to reach the milestone (809 games) after Connor McDavid (659 games) and Sidney Crosby (757).
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Two helpers in return from injury
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Kucherov (illness) delivered two assists in a 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Thursday.
He played 22:44 and fired three shots in his first game after missing two to illness. Kucherov has three assists over his last two games and five points (two goals, three assists) in five games so far. Tampa Bay sits last in the Eastern Conference with a 1-4-2 record and has two fewer wins than any other team in the conference. This won't last, and Kucherov is going to be a big reason why. Go kick the tires quickly to see if his manager thinks the world is going to end. You might score a huge win.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Returns to practice Tuesday
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Kucherov (illness) was back on the ice Tuesday, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.
Kucherov was on the shelf for the Bolts' previous two clashes due to his illness, but he looks set to return ahead of Thursday's meeting with the Blackhawks. Prior to his absence, the 32-year-old winger was off to a slow start, by his standards at least, with just two goals and one assist through four contests.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Remains out Saturday
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Kucherov (illness) is expected to miss Saturday's clash against Columbus, per Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley.
Kucherov was also absent for Friday's 2-1 overtime loss to Detroit. After Saturday's game, Tampa Bay is off until Thursday versus Chicago, so Kucherov will get some time to recover. Conor Geekie is likely to serve on the top six and receive some power-play ice time until Kucherov is ready to return.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Absent from lineup Friday
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Kucherov (illness) won't play versus the Red Wings on Friday.
Kucherov will miss his first game of the year while under the weather. It's unclear if he'll be healthy enough to play Saturday in Columbus for the second half of a back-to-back. Kucherov has three points through four outings this season, but he has also posted a minus-8 rating.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Closing in on 1,000 points
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Kucherov tallied an assist Tuesday in a 3-2 OT loss to Washington.
It was Kucherov's 997th point in 807 career regular-season games, so that plateau will come pretty fast. Among active players, Connor McDavid (659 games) and Sidney Crosby (757 games) will be the only two players to have hit the 1,000 mark faster. Evgeni Malkin is next at 848, with Nathan MacKinnon (856) ahead of Alex Ovechkin (880) on an impressive list of stars. Kucherov continues to impress every time the trainer unloads his skates from the travel bag and pops them onto the warmers at his stall.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Double snipe night
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Kucherov scored twice Thursday in a 5-4 loss to Ottawa.
Kucherov's first goal came on the power play in the first period, while his second deflected in off a Senators defender with 13 seconds left in the game. Kucherov is four points away (996) from 1,000 in his NHL career (359 goals, 637 assists).
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Moves up playoff record charts
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Kucherov delivered three assists Saturday in a 5-1 win over the Panthers in Game 3.
Kucherov has 11 playoff outings with three assists, tying Paul Coffey and Doug Gilmour for third-most all-time, per George Richards of NHL.com. The trio sits behind Wayne Gretzky, who did it 28 times, and Mark Messier, who accomplished the feat 12 times. Kucherov is also the seventh NHL player to put up at least 30 multi-assist games in the postseason. The win got the Bolts back in the series. Game 4 is Monday night, with the Panthers up 2-1.
Kucherov notched a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Panthers in Game 1.
Kucherov racked up a stunning 29 points over 17 contests to close out the regular season, securing his second straight Art Ross Trophy with 121 points in 78 outings overall. He was able to get on the scoresheet again in the playoff opener, but the Lightning weren't able to put together much else on offense. Kucherov's one of the most dynamic players in the league, and Tampa Bay will need him at his best to go on a deep run in the postseason.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Art Ross winner adds two points
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Kucherov had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win over Florida on Tuesday.
Kucherov has five points, including three goals, in his last two games and 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past six outings. That run has brought him up to 121 points in 77 appearances to lead the NHL, and he has secured his third Art Ross Trophy. Kucherov is also tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead in assists (84).
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Likely secures Art Ross Trophy
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Kucherov scored twice on four shots, dished an assist and went plus-2 in Sunday's 7-4 win over the Sabres.
With the three-point effort, Kucherov took sole possession of the NHL lead in points with 119 (36 goals, 83 assists). Nathan MacKinnon's (undisclosed) regular season is over with 116 points, and the next two closest players are more than 10 points back, which is too large a deficit to overcome this late in the year. Once official, this will be Kucherov's third time winning the Art Ross Trophy as the league leader in points, which includes his career-best 144-point performance in 2023-24. Kucherov has added 259 shots on net, 45 PIM and a plus-21 rating over 76 appearances this season. It's unclear if he'll be rested for either of the Lightning's last two games -- as of Sunday, they still have seeding to play for.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Three-point effort in win
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Kucherov produced a goal and two assists, all on the power play, in Monday's 5-1 win over the Rangers.
The Lightning's top power-play unit dominated the game, as Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel also had three-point performances with the man advantage. Kucherov has delivered five multi-point efforts in the last seven games, a surge which has allowed him to keep pace with Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead -- both players have 115 points, but the Bolts have one more game left on their schedule than the Avs.
