For nine years of playing in the NHL, Nikita Kucherov has earned himself a quite stable and very ambivalent reputation abroad. The Russian is considered the key forward of Tampa, and at the same time one of the dirtiest players in overseas hockey.

Nikita also showed both of his signature qualities in a recent match against Toronto. The Russian hockey player was noted for two effective actions, breaking the mark of 600 points for his career, but the audience did not remember this at all.

Kucherov’s dirty reception greatly angered foreign fans. Referee foul Russian overlooked, but the fans in social networks are now talking only about him!

Scorer record

Nikita Kucherov hit the headlines of the Russian media as one of the main characters of the match between Tampa Bay and Toronto. The meeting ended with the absolute defeat of the Canadian team (8:1), in which the Russian hockey player took an active part.

First, in the second period, Nikita provided an assist to Steven Stamkos, turning his colleague into the leading scorer in the history of the Lightning. Secondly, he distinguished himself: already three minutes later he literally pushed the puck into the Maple Leafs goal, despite the resistance of three opponents at once.

Nikita Kucherov / Photo: © Dirk Shadd / ZUMAPRESS.com / Global Look Press

Thanks to these successes, Nikita crossed the iconic mark of 600 points in the NHL. Kucherov became the 15th Russian hockey player in history to overcome this milestone, and entrenched himself in a similar position in the ranking of the strongest Russian scorers throughout the existence of the championship. Finally, the Russian also became the best sniper of Tampa in the calendar year: he has already scored 18 goals.

“Kucherov should be disqualified for 10 games”

However, in social networks, American fans are now discussing not Kucherov’s scorer records. Much more fans were impressed by the episode in which the Russian hockey player appeared as an anti-hero.

Nikita met Mitchell Marner in a very dubious way in the initial phase of the Toronto attack. When the Canadian hockey player reached the center of the court and had already passed the ball, the Russian decided to put the opponent out of action by playing to the body. However, the matter was not limited to the usual collision. First, hitting the enemy with his shoulder, Kucherov followed Marner with a vile blow from behind, hitting him with a skate on the right knee.

Photo: © REUTERS / Mitchell Marner

After the skirmish, Mitchell drove only a meter and immediately grabbed his leg. Normally, the Canadian could not continue the game – and, hobbling, left the opponent’s half of the site. And then he looked accusingly at Kucherov from the bench – the match operators caught this displeased look.

Fans quickly realized that Nikita’s insidious blow was intentional. On an approximate video clip from the game, it is clearly visible that the Russian was directly looking at the opponent at the key moment and perfectly saw where he was hitting. Of course, Kucherov’s unsportsmanlike act outraged the Americans:

– It doesn’t matter if you support Toronto or not, but it was done on purpose. Marner could have been seriously injured if he cut himself. It was a kick, given the experience of Kucherov, this is not an accident. The NHL should check the episode. A very ugly game.

– Kucherov should get a foul and a 10-game suspension.

– Seriously. There is no way you can convince me that you can accidentally lift your leg like that.

– Look at Kucherov’s head. I could be wrong, but damn it, it looks like he’s doing it on purpose.

However, few people were surprised by Kucherov’s move: other similar episodes from his career were immediately recalled in the comments. What is worth the mere collision of a Russian with Vladimir Sobotka in 2019, because of which the Czech was out of action until the end of the season, and then left the NHL altogether. Then, despite the outrage of the local media, the league ignored Nikita’s misconduct. Let’s see if the Russian will go unpunished this time.

NHL. Regular season

Tampa Bay Lightning (Tampa) – Toronto Maple Leafs (Toronto) – 8:1 (0:0, 4:0, 4:1)

Goals: Killorn, 23:54, 44:33 (bol.). Colton, 31:37, 48:50. Stamkos, 32:38 (bol.). Kucherov, 35:07 (bol.). Chambers, 41:12. Maroun 54:11. – Mikheev, 47:45 (bol.).