MOSCOW, Jan 7 Head coach of the National Hockey League (NHL) club » Tampa Bay Lightning John Cooper called Russian striker Nikita Kucherov an elite player and said he will only get better as he recovers from injury. Tampa Thursday 4-1 (0-0, 1-0, 3-1 ) beat the Calgary Flames. Kucherov, who played his first match since October 17, chalked up two assists: “Skip so much time, come back with a big and fast team like Calgary, and do everything that Kucherov did … an elite player. But he will also be the first to tell you that he still has something to show. Kucherov had some good rallies, this transfer to Point is top-class hockey. He will probably only get better when he finally recovers. » Cooper is quoted by the official website of the NHL. At the end of October, Kucherov underwent surgery, the recovery period was supposed to be 8-10 weeks. «It's nice to come back, that's for sure. (Recovering from an injury) is always difficult, each time it is more and more difficult,» noted Kucherov.
