Nikita Kucherov will celebrate her 31st birthday this year , but from season to season the Russian forward of the Tampa Bay Lightning only continues to progress. His influence on the team is invaluable. The Russian plays, perhaps, the main role in the Lightning’s performance, and without him right now it is completely impossible to imagine the seemingly already powerful attack of the 2020 and 2021 NHL champions.
Things haven't been going well for the Lightning this season. John Cooper's team is forced to count almost every point scored in the fight to get into the playoff zone. And the fact that Tampa is still a contender for a place in the Stanley Cup is thanks to Kucherov. If it weren't for the Russian, the Lightning would be in an even sadder situation.
Nikita is one of the few players who has performed with enviable stability during the current season and regularly scores points. In the case of the Russian forward, a lot of points. A lot of points. Kucherov has been holding the lead in the championship's top scorer race for several months now and is aiming to set a new personal performance record in a single regular season draw. Those 128 points in the 2018/19 season are still the best result among all Russian hockey players in the history of the NHL. And now Kucherov has every chance to rewrite his own record – Nikita, according to the current schedule, has 139 points.
Once again, the Russian added to his personal collection of scoring points in today’s game against the Minnesota Wild. “Tampa” achieved an important victory in this battle (7:3), and Kucherov himself scored an assist hat-trick. His third assist in the match was Nikita’s 500th assist in his NHL championship career. Kuch became only the fourth player in Lightning history to reach this mark, as well as the ninth Russian hockey player in the history of the league. There are only great legends ahead of Kucherov – Evgeny Malkin, Sergey Fedorov, Alexander Ovechkin, Sergey Zubov, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexey Kovalev, Sergey Gonchar and Alexander Mogilny. The Tampa forward is so phenomenal and unique that we won’t even have time to blink, but we won’t notice the moment when Kucherov himself becomes great and legendary, if he hasn’t already.
At the same time, Kuch doesn’t pay attention to these indicators. The Russian forward has long had the image of a modest man who loves silence and prefers not to waste words. If he speaks, it is rarely and reluctantly.
“'Record in points? I've never thought about it. I'm just trying to do everything possible to help the team win. We're going through a difficult period right now, we need to figure it out and play better,'” Kucherov said recently.
“Play better” is the message all Tampa Bay players are trying to hear. And they, by their own admission, hear him. But they fail to match the level of their teammate. Nikita is known for his desire to progress and develop even when it seems that it is impossible to be better. The Russian tries to pass on this quality of self-improvement to his teammates.
“If he could play 40 minutes a match, he would play. That's how good he is. The guys who play with him want to be like that too “It is Nikita who influences the fact that we are still talking about our position in the table in the fight for the playoffs,” Tampa captain Steven Stamkos said about the Russian.
There are still three months until the end of the regular season, but in America they are already discussing with all their might the contenders for one of the main and most prestigious personal awards – the Hart Trophy. The unofficial list of nominees includes, for example, Artemi Panarin, who is also having a phenomenal season and helping the New York Rangers stay among the league leaders. Kucherov, naturally, is also in contention for this prize. In his honor, a separate material was published on the NHL website, which expressed the idea that Nikita should be recognized as the MVP of the season.
“”Incredible. Simply incredible!” Artemy Panarin spoke about Kucherov's performance, “He played like that before , so it doesn't surprise me. He puts in the hard work. He's a hard-working guy. It's great to see him play so incredibly. He's from Russia, so it's very important for our hockey. It's very important for our country.”
At the end of the 2018/19 season, Kucherov has already won the Hart Trophy, at the same time taking home awards for the best scorer of the championship (Art Ross Trophy) and a prize for the most outstanding hockey player of the season (Ted Lindsay Award). Five years later, the Russian can repeat this success.
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