Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov set a new franchise record for career points on Saturday with a 1st period assist against Utah. Kucherov now sits alone atop the Lightning points list with 1,138 (405G, 733A) passing former teammate Steven Stamkos in the process.
“He’s arguably the smartest player I’ve ever coached,” said coach Jon Cooper. “He’s always multiple steps ahead…He has accumulated a ton of points in his career. That’s what he does. He’s a special talent, and guys like him don’t come around very often. He’s given our fans at home a decade of pretty awesome performances.”
“When guys meet Kuch for the first time, there’s a little bit of the awe factor of, ‘This is Nikita Kucherov’. I think we’re all blessed and awed by his skill,” Cooper continued. “But off the ice he’s quiet, stays to himself, does what you ask and gives everything he has on the ice. He’s just a great guy to have around. I think there’s a reason we’ve had some success in the past decade and a half, and one of the big reasons is Kuch.”
Brayden Point was the benefactor of a Kucherov shot which produced a juicy rebound that the Canadian poked in, giving his Russian teammate his 10th assist of the year. Originally a 2nd round pick of the Lightning back in 2011, Kucherov has gone on to earn 3x Art Ross trophies, 2x Hart trophies, and 2x Ted Lindsay awards since coming over to North America.
“He works so hard, and he leads this team with his work ethic,” Point said. “He’s passed some great players who have played with us, and to see him work at it and get it, no one’s more deserving than he is. He really puts in the work, and I’m really happy for him.”
With 4 goals and 10 assists across 11 games played, the 33 year old forward is seeking his 5th straight 100+ point season this year as Tampa Bay looks to make a run at a 4th Stanley Cup title in franchise history.
Photo: Paula R. Lively. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.