Nikita Kucherov regained the lead in the NHL scoring race

Another great match, in which his Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Vegas Golden Knights away – 5:3, returned Nikita Kucherov, who scored four points, to the lead in the scoring race of the NHL regular season. Its ending promises to be very hot, because Kucherov’s competitor, Nathan McKinnon from the Colorado Avalanche, is very close and also “hot.”

After a match in which, in a very difficult fight, being inferior in score, Tampa was still able to defeat last year’s Stanley Cup winner, who had not lost his power and now, on his court, the winners’ coach John Cooper said that he was lucky to watch for many years, as he put it, “from the front row” at the performance of his leaders. This evening, the coach, of course, had in mind primarily two forwards – Brayden Point, who scored a double and scored both of his goals in the final period, that is, in the period when everything was decided, as well as Nikita Kucherov. He played not just well, but magnificently, as, indeed, in all his last matches. At the end of last week, he destroyed the mighty New York Rangers with five points, then with a goal and an assist he helped Tampa cope with another contender for the championship in the regular season, the Florida Panthers. Now it’s time suffer from Kucherov to another favorite.

The Russian striker came into play midway through the opening period, when he provided an easy goal for Anthony Duclair, who had recently moved to Tampa from the San Jose Sharks. In the third twenty minutes he assisted Point twice. And finally, towards the end of the match, when Vegas replaced the goalkeeper with a sixth field player in the hope of winning back the minimal gap, Kucherov had a chance to hit an empty goal. A quite honestly earned puck, taking into account previous efforts and achievements.

After this match, everyone who covered it concentrated, of course, on two classifications. The first is the regular season table.

For some time, things were going for Tampa in such a way that reasonable doubts arose: would Nikita Kucherov play in the playoffs? But there are almost none left. The win against Vegas was the fourth in a row for the team, and it significantly improved its tournament position. In its Atlantic Division, Tampa is not yet in the top three, which guarantees a spot in the playoffs, behind the Boston Bruins, Florida and Toronto Maple Leafs. But at least it tops the ranking of clubs in the so-called wild card zone of the Eastern Conference with a reserve. It consists of four teams that, if they remain in it until the end of the regular season, will earn tickets thanks to the best performance among those who found themselves outside the top three in their division.

The second classification is, of course, the hierarchy of the league’s top scorers.

In it, Nikita Kucherov was in the lead for quite a long time, and then was behind Nathan MacKinnon for quite a long time, but thanks to his March explosion, he again ahead his. After the meeting with Vegas, Kucherov has 118 points, the Colorado forward has 117.

At the same time, perhaps, we can safely say that no one will interfere in their fight for the prestigious Art Ross Trophy (and the Hart Trophy is often attached to the scorer’s trophy for simply the most valuable player of the regular season). Still, the gap between the leading duo and Connor McDavid from the Edmonton Oilers, who follows them, is already too large – nine points separate McDavid from MacKinnon. There are already very few matches on the calendar. Moreover, when trying to predict the outcome of the race, you need to know that Nikita Kucherov’s Tampa has one more than MacKinnon’s Colorado – 14 versus 13. Although we must not forget that Nathan MacKinnon, like his club, Having just stretched their winning streak to seven meetings, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4:3, they are also “hot” at the beginning of spring and are constantly gaining points. And also that the Canadian is ahead of the Russian in terms of goals scored (42 versus 41). For such a hot confrontation, it’s a tiny, but a plus.

Alexey Dospehov