Nikita Kucherov single-handedly sentenced San Jose! Kucherov scored five points (1+4) and entered the race for the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the top scorer during the regular season. Nikita has already reached fourth place! The Canadian monster Colorado now has to watch out.

In addition, the Russian forward rewrote the history of the Lightning.

Struggle for leadership

Tampa continues to fight for first place in the East. The Lightning entered the away match against San Jose with an amazing six-game win streak. The Lightning’s results are also related to the effective actions of Nikita Kucherov. Before the game with the Sharks, the Russian forward scored points in six games in a row, scoring “6+6” during this period.

As for the “sharks,” they have also gained momentum recently. “San Jose” has a series of three victories, during which the team scored 15 goals! The Sharks look good offensively, but the team still has big problems defensively. This season, only Anaheim has missed more than Ryan Warsofsky’s team. However, the Sharks are still in contention for the playoffs. And a victory over Tampa would help them gain a foothold in the top eight of the West.

Kucherov is on fire!

San Jose’s problems with defensive play appeared at the start of the meeting. By the seventh minute, the Lightning had sent three unanswered goals into the opponent’s goal! Kucherov also contributed to the strong start to the first period, scoring an assist double.

The Russian forward helped Brayden Point open the scoring, and a few shifts later he passed the ball from behind the goal to Darren Reddish for a throw, and he completed the attack with one touch. According to the NHL press service, Nikita extended his streak of matches with 2+ points to six games. This happened only for the fourth time in the history of the club!

The Tampa leader didn’t stop there. At the beginning of the second period, with the score 3:1 in favor of the guests, Kucherov again improved his statistics. During a 5-on-4 play, he shared the puck with Reddish, who scored a double with a powerful long-range shot.

And at the end of the game segment Nikita distinguished himself. On the power play, he received a pass in the right throw-in circle, closed the distance to the goal and hit the far open corner with his wrist shot. This is already the 20th goal of the season for the Russian. He achieved this sniper mark in 11 NHL seasons! He moved into third place in Tampa Bay history by this indicator. Only Steven Stamkos (14) and Vincent Lecavalier (12) are ahead.

Nikita Kucherov and Tampa hockey players / Photo: © Sean M. Haffey / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The Lightning leader, who had gained momentum, could no longer be stopped. In the 37th minute, he provided an assist to Reddish, who scored a hat-trick. This is the Russian’s fifth successful point in the match! And in total he has 59 points (20+39). Kucherov moved into fourth place on the list of the league’s top scorers, ahead of Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl.

There are only four effective actions before San Jose forward McLean Celebrini, who completes the top 3. But Colorado leader Nathan MacKinnon (74), of course, has a serious advantage, but nothing is impossible for the Russian who has gained momentum.

The match ended with a score of 7:3 in favor of Tampa, which won its seventh victory in a row.