Nikita Kucherov was the first to score 80 points in the current NHL championship

Nikita Kucherov became the first player in the current NHL championship to reach 80 points. The outstanding Russian forward regained his leadership in the scoring race thanks to a luxuriously played match in which his Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6:3 away. In it, Kucherov scored three goals, adding an assist to them.

After the match against Philadelphia, Tampa coach John Cooper performed the program required in such situations – that is, he talked about the hero of the day. Cooper said that he enjoys watching Nikita Kucherov play in every match. He called him an “elite”, “unique” hockey player. Then he apologized for the fact that he could no longer come up with definitions corresponding to the leader’s talent, but still invented something else, saying that the puck launched by Kucherov seemed to “have eyes.”

And the mentor’s amazing generosity in complimenting the Russian hockey player, of course, did not seem like too much. After such and such a match, it was absolutely appropriate. In fact, it was Kucherov who made the result in it.

First of all, those same “homing” throws from your favorite spot in the right face-off circle. One achieved the goal in the first period in equal strength, the other in the next in the majority. And to them Kucherov added an assist to Michael Eissimont at the end of the second twenty minutes, very important, considering that Philadelphia had just scored twice in a row and recently reduced the huge gap to a minimum, plus an empty-net goal in the end. So took place the striker’s fifth hat-trick in his North American career, despite the fact that the previous one happened by his own standards quite a long time ago, in January 2022.

In addition, Nikita Kucherov made a spectacular return to the top of the NHL scoring classification, where Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche briefly settled.

Kucherov now has exactly 80 points (31 goals and 49 assists), MacKinnon now has three fewer. At the same time, apparently, no one will be destined to interfere in the dispute between these two hockey players for the scoring title. After all, David Pastrnak from the Boston Bruins, who is in third, is already ten points behind the Colorado striker. In this case, the dispute will be conducted at the highest level.

Statistically, Nikita Kucherov’s peak was still the season five years ago. Tampa will win its two consecutive Stanley Cups largely thanks to him later – in 2020 and 2021, but then, in 2019, he finished the regular season with phenomenal performance. His 128 points were a record for this century (however, in the last championship, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers still broke it, collecting as many as 153). So, projected over the full distance of a regular season of 82 matches (Tampa now has 48), Kucherov’s current numbers mean that he will surpass his personal achievement, and with a margin. By maintaining the same pace, he should, in theory, score 137 points, scoring 53 goals. And he had not yet reached the milestone of 50, which is considered evidence of an exceptional sniper gift.

After the match against Philadelphia, John Cooper explained why Nikita Kucherov, at 30, has added so much compared to his former self.

The explanation was obvious. The same statistics already confirm that Kucherov, always focused primarily on a subtle pass, began to shoot at other people’s goals more often. On average, he has more than four shots on target per match, the same number as “professional” snipers who are not too concerned about delivering projectiles to their partners.

However, Cooper said that he was completely satisfied with this metamorphosis. It’s not strange, since the effectiveness of these shots is so great, and they definitely don’t harm Tampa, at least in January.

In general, the season was not easy for this club, despite the stability of the leader. Around the New Year, the trend was that Tampa, which was falsifying in defense and constantly allowing breakdowns, would most likely not make it to the playoffs: there was no way it could get a hold of the “cup zone.” But then everything got better. The victory over strong Philadelphia was Tampa’s sixth in the last seven matches. And it has already broken into the “playoff zone,” finding itself in third position in the Atlantic Division behind Boston and the Florida Panthers. Although the club’s position still cannot be called strong. The pursuers – the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Detroit Red Wings – are breathing down their necks. So new feats are required from Kucherov – without them, as practice shows, one cannot survive.

Alexey Dospehov