Most star athletes achieve their success due to talent given to a person by nature, genetics or something else. And only a few managed to climb to the top through labor, constant work on oneself and the endless pursuit of perfection, which, as we know, has no limit. Nikita Kucherov is one of those who made themselves. The Russian hockey player went through a lot during his career to get to where he is now. In the modern world it is very difficult to find a person who devotes himself to work as much as Nikita. Legends are already being made about how immersed Kuch is in this process. Other Tampa Bay Lightning stars look up to him, and he is a great example for young people.
This season of the National Hockey League, the Russian surpasses himself, as if once again showing everyone that something can always be improved and that you can’t stop there if you want to be at the top. As a reward for his hard work, Nikita is far and away the best player in the NHL right now. And even though North American journalists turn their noses up at the Russian forward because of his not the most attractive character and are ready to leave Kucherov without the Hart Trophy just because of the situation at the All-Star Game, hockey cannot be fooled.
For most of the season, Kuch led the list of scorers in the championship, where he was opposed by one of the best hockey players in the world, Nathan MacKinnon. But the Canadian has an advantage: his Colorado Avalanche is on the rise, and the Avalanche’s lineup is more or less even. Kucherov, on the other hand, is dragging Tampa on his back straight to the playoffs. Most of the goals scored by the Lightning this season came from Nikita: the Russian either scores himself or makes amazing passes, seeing the court like no one else. As an example, one of his assists in today's game with the San Jose Sharks. This is an extra-class level.
In March, the Lightning leader slowed down a little, which MacKinnon took advantage of and temporarily led the race for the Art Ross Trophy. And then Connor McDavid started breathing in the back. Such competition pushed Kucherov with renewed vigor to show the entire league who is boss. Just think about these numbers: Nikita Kucherov scored a record 15 (!) points in the last four matches. 15! He had the same amount for a similar period in February 2019.
The Russian scored four of these 15 points in the match with San Jose. In the meeting with the Sharks, Kuch scored an assist poker. This game was his fourth of the season with four assists in a match or more, which is a new club record. Kucherov also repeated Tampa’s own record for the number of matches with 4+ points per game in a season (8) and extended his personal scoring streak to 12 matches. Yes, this is also a new Lightning record.
Nikita’s overall statistics in the regular season look much more powerful:
- The Russian has 81 assists right now. Kucherov became only the seventh player in NHL history to reach 80+ assists in at least three seasons. The other six are absolute legends and, symbolically, members of the Hockey Hall of Fame: Wayne Gretzky (14 seasons), Mario Lemieux (6 seasons), Bobby Orr (5 seasons), Paul Coffey (4 seasons), Adam Oates and Denis Savard (both — 3 seasons).
- 41 goals Repeating Nikita's personal sniper record in his career in the NHL championships. The next goal will be historic.
- 122 points in 68 matches. Nikita Kucherov reached the 120+ scoring mark for the second time in his career. This happened for the first time in the 2018/19 season, when the Tampa forward eventually scored 128 points (41+87) and became absolutely the best among Russians in the entire history of the league. Now Kuch is close to breaking his own achievement. According to the current schedule, he is already at 145 points! Kucherov is the first Russian hockey player in NHL history to score at least 120 points in a season twice in his career. The legendary Alexander Mogilny (127 points in the 1992/93 season) and Sergei Fedorov (120 points in the 1993/94 season) reached this level only once each.
Nikita Kucherov is a genius. Car. A unique hockey player and athlete. And there is a feeling that his achievements today are not the limit. A master and hard worker like Kuch is capable of rising even higher. It is a privilege to witness his miracles at this time.