Tampa Bay Lightning’s Russian forward Nikita Kucherov was considered the starting star of the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season match against the Anaheim Ducks (5:1).
Kucherov scored three points in this game and assisted Victor Hadman and Steven Stamkos three times. Thanks to these points, he became the tenth Russian hockey player to achieve this goal in the NHL, scoring 799, 800 and 801 points in his career.
The Russian forward strengthened his lead in the NHL scoring race; He currently has 72 (28+44) points in 43 games. He is the first player to reach 70 points this season, his closest pursuer is three points behind – Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche has scored 69 (23+46) points in 43 games.
Kucherov finished fourth (30+82) in the NHL regular season last season, behind David Pastrnak (113 points), Leon Draisaitl (129 points) and Connor McDavid (153 points).
Tampa Bay earned its third straight win. The team sits in eighth place in the NHL Eastern Conference with 49 points.
In two words, the former Washington coach described Injured Alexander Ovechkin.