- Nikita Kucherov has 1,134 points, four shy of Steven Stamkos’ Lightning record of 1,137
- Tampa Bay visits Vegas on Tuesday night with a chance to tie or pass him
- Read below for what Stamkos, Jon Cooper and Tyler Johnson said about Kucherov’s work ethic
Nikita Kucherov is four points away from becoming the Lightning’s all-time leading scorer.
He sits at 1,134 points in 887 games. Steven Stamkos left Tampa Bay with 1,137 in 1,082. Three points ties it and four passes it, and the Lightning visit the Golden Knights on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Tampa Bay Times reporter Eduardo Encina wrote last week that Kucherov learned consistency from Stamkos and is now set to pass him:
Kucherov moved closer Saturday against Vancouver. Tampa Bay fell behind 2-0, and he scored back-to-back goals to tie it in a 4-2 win. Bolts By The Bay flagged the chase that night:
The pace gap is huge. Kucherov averages 1.28 points per game compared to 1.05 for Stamkos, who is in his third season with the Predators. Stamkos, who has 555 goals and 582 assists as a Lightning player, also moved past Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla on the all-time goals list earlier this month.
Stamkos talked with NHL.com’s Dan Rosen about the record falling.
“Whether I stayed or left, I think it was going to happen at some point,” Stamkos said. “It might have gotten pushed down the line a little longer, but I think if it’s all said and done and ‘Kuch’ ends up a Lightning for life it would have happened at some point.”
Former Lightning forward Tyler Johnson told Rosen about watching a 20-year-old Kucherov in his first NHL training camp in 2013. Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov stayed on the ice after everyone else got kicked off.
“You could just see how detailed he was in everything he did,” Johnson said. “He was thinking about the smallest of things: how he’s stickhandling, where he’s putting the puck, how he’s protecting it.”
Kucherov was a second-round pick, No. 58 in 2011, and put up 18 points in 52 games as a rookie. Now he has two Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies and three Art Ross Trophies. Coach Jon Cooper, his only NHL coach, said Wayne Gretzky marvels at the way Kucherov thinks the game.
Stamkos described Kucherov’s mindset after the second Cup in 2021. A group went to his house at 3 or 4 in the morning, and Kucherov was already talking about McDavid and MacKinnon.
“He’s never satisfied,” Stamkos said. “That’s what he was talking about after just winning the Stanley Cup and putting up 30-whatever points in the playoffs.”
