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.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Nabs assist Saturday
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Kucherov provided an assist and added three shots on goal in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres.
Kucherov found Brayden Point for the opening tally at 1:35 of the second period. Thursday's game in Ottawa saw the end of Kucherov's nine-game, 19-point streak, but he remains one of the most consistent contributors in the league. He's now at 112 points (33 goals, 79 assists), 250 shots on net and a plus-22 rating over 72 contests in 2024-25. He's three points back of Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead, but the Lightning have two games in hand on the Avalanche, giving Kucherov plenty of time to mount a challenge for the Art Ross Trophy.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Second straight four-point game
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Kucherov had a goal and three assists in a 5-3 victory over the Islanders on Saturday.
It was Kucherov's second straight game with a goal and three assists. He put up the same numbers in an 8-0 win against Utah on Thursday. Kucherov has consecutive four-point performances an incredible six times in his career, putting him in a select group of players that includes Wayne Gretzky (32), Mario Lemieux (19), and Paul Coffey (six), Mike Bossy (six) and Marcel Dionne (six), per Stefan Rosner of NHL.com. Kucherov is riding an eight-game, 17-point scoring streak (five goals, 12 assists), pulling him even with Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead with 109 points.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Four-point night extends streak
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Kucherov had a goal and three assists in an 8-0 win over Utah on Thursday. One of the assists came on the power play.
Kucherov has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) during a seven-game scoring streak. He continues to chase Nathan MacKinnon for the Art Ross trophy -- Kucherov is currently two points behind MacKinnon with 105 points, including 73 assists. Kucherov also has 40 power-play points, including 33 helpers, 232 shots and nine game-winning goals this season.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Third straight 100-point season
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Kucherov scored a goal and added two assists in a 6-1 win over the Penguins on Tuesday.
Kucherov now has 101 points (30 goals, 71 assists) in 67 games, and he extended his point streak to six games (nine points; three goals, six assists). He hit 100 points for the third straight season and fifth time in 11 NHL seasons. Kucherov also became the 10th player in NHL history to have three straight seasons with 70 or more helpers.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Two points in Monday's win
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Kucherov scored the game-winning goal and added a power-play assist in Monday's 2-0 win over the Flyers.
His GWG late in the first period came on a brilliant solo effort, as he stole the puck in his own zone and outraced the Philly defense down the ice before beating Ivan Fedotov on the breakaway. Kucherov has produced six multi-point performances in 15 appearances since the beginning of February, racking up six goals and 20 points over that span. The 31-year-old superstar has also established a new career high with nine game-winning goals on the season.
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Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Assist in return from illness
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Kucherov (illness) picked up an assist Saturday in a 6-2 win against Boston.
Kucherov played 19:25 and fired three shots. He had missed Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss at Philadelphia. Kucherov is firmly third in NHL scoring with 93 points. Both Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl have already cracked the century mark, and the guy who's fourth on the list has 85 points (Connor McDavid). Make sure Kucherov's in your lineup.
