Kucherov on the Cusp of Greatness...Again
By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is once again on the cusp of greatness. The two-time Hart Trophy winner needs one point to eclipse Steven Stamkos as the Tampa Bay Lightning's all-time leading scorer in points. It's never been a matter of if; it's always been a matter of when.
Kucherov earned three points in a convincing win against the high-powered Vegas Golden Knights, 6-2. His goal and two assists brought him even with Stamkos at 1,137 points.
You can pretty much guarantee that point number 1,138 is earned tonight as the Bolts take on the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver.
Kucherov has scored in seven of nine games, including the first five games of the season. He has four goals and five assists for nine points.
Stamkos reached the milestone on April 21, 2022, recording his 954th career point (passing Martin St. Louis) in an 8-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The feat took him 917 games to eclipse St. Louis and 1,082 games to set his final mark of 1,137.
Tonight will be Kucherov's 889th.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper was asked this week when he first realized Kucherov is a special player, often called a generational player.
“Oh, maybe how dumb I was because I sat him out for two games in the 2014 playoffs," Cooper said. "I think his coming-out party was the next year when we made that run to the final in 2015. It was the formation of the triplet line that year, and you knew you had something special that year.”
Kucherov, then 21, scored 22 points in 26 games in the 2015 playoffs.
Kucherov looks to set record tonight against Colorado
As Kucherov looks to set the scoring record tonight, he led the Lightning in scoring against Colorado last season with 3 points (1G, 2A), while Brandon Hagel had 2 points (1G, 1A).
The teams split last season’s series: Colorado won 3-2 at home last November, and the Lightning got revenge with a 4-2 home win in January.
The Lightning carry a 27-22-8 all-time record against the Avalanche, including 10-15-4 on the road.
Bolts Center Anthony Cirelli returns to the lineup tonight after leaving Tuesday night's game against Vegas with an undisclosed issue.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will start tonight and is 7-5-1 with a .911 save percentage in 13 career starts against the Avalanche.
With back-to-back games this weekend (the Bolts travel to Utah tomorrow night to face the Mammoth), Vasilevskiy will likely rest tomorrow night.
The Lightning went 19-8-3 in back-to-back games last season, for a .683 points percentage that ranked third in the NHL.
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