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Nikita Kucherov was otherworldly for the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, recording a goal and six points as the Bolts crushed the Calgary Flames 8-3 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
In the process, No. 86 tied a couple of Tampa Bay single-season records — both the six points and five assists, according to NHL.com's Aaron Vickers.
“Doug Crossman (Nov. 7, 1992), Kucherov (Nov. 24, 2023) and Point (March 14, 2024) are the other six-point games in Lightning history,” wrote Vickers on Thursday. “The other five-assist games for the Lightning were by Mark Recchi (March 1, 2009), Martin St. Louis (Nov. 18, 2010), Darren Raddysh (March 9, 2024) and Hagel (Nov. 25, 2024).”
Kucherov has long been one of the National Hockey League's premier players; the Russian won the Hart Trophy as league MVP at the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign after recording 128 points in 82 games. And although Kucherov didn't win the Conn Smythe as postseason MVP in either of Tampa's Stanley Cup runs in 2020 and 2021, he led the playoffs in scoring both times.
“It just makes the game so much easier, especially playing on his line,” star forward Brayden Point said of Kucherov, per Vickers. “He had six points tonight … just incredible. It's not hard to believe coming from ‘Kuch,' but he's been rolling this season and he's a big part of our wins.”
He's the engine, and that continues to be the case in 2024-25. Kucherov is now second in league scoring, with 14 goals and 44 points in 25 games. He's again making a Hart case after setting career-highs with an astounding 144 points in 81 games in 2023-24.
“He's been the backbone of this team, backbone of this franchise for the last decade here,” Bolts defenseman Ryan McDonagh echoed, per Vickers. “Credit to him. He's so consistent and hungry to win and we feed off his competitiveness. Great for us to come through in a milestone game for him.”
Kucherov is leading the way, and the Lightning are surging into the holiday season.
Lightning on a roll in December
After Thursday's triumph, Tampa Bay is 15-10-2 and six points back of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers at the top of the division. They currently occupy the top wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference after winning three of four games.
Jake Guentzel recorded a hat trick in the winning effort on Thursday, while Anthony Cirelli chipped in a goal and two assists; Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves in his 500th NHL contest.
“It's not the fact we scored four [in the third],” said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. “It's the fact that we didn't give anything up. That's how you win hockey games. You can't sit here and say we're just going to score ourselves to a win. In the third we defended ourselves to a win and that's what I was proud of.”
After the convincing victory, the Lightning will look to keep the positive momentum going against the Kraken in Seattle on Saturday night. It's the finale of a Western road trip before the squad returns home to welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to Amalie Arena on Tuesday.
