Nikita Kucherov joins a very exclusive club of NHL players to record 100 assists in a season.
Kucherov assisted on Brayden Point’s second-period goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning in their final game of the regular season. That made him one of just five players to have recorded 100 assists in a season in NHL history.
With a power play against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kucherov faked a one-timer in the faceoff circle and passed to Point, who fired a snap shot past Leafs goaltender Martin Jones. It was Kucherov’s 33rd assist on Point’s goals this year, his highest total with one player, according to the NHL.
100 ASSISTS FOR KUCH 🤩 pic.twitter.com/tY7UUV9XMr
— x – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 18, 2024
His milestone helper came two days after Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid hit 100 assists as well. It’s the first time two NHL players recorded 100 helpers in the same campaign since 1988-89 when Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat.
Gretzky reached 100 assists in 11 seasons between 1980 and 1991 with the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, while Lemieux had 114 assists in ’88-89 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Former Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr was the first to get 100 assists in a season, doing so in 1970-71.
Related: ‘One of the Best of All-Time’: McDavid’s 100-Assist Season Leaves Teammates in Awe
Kucherov also scored a goal in Wednesday’s game, bringing his career-high season totals to 44 goals and 144 points in 81 contests. He is just the second player since Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96 to record more than 140 points in a season, also trailing McDavid, who did so last season with 153.
The 30-year-old from Maykop, Russia, is on his way to capturing his second Art Ross trophy as the top scorer of the season, previously doing so in 2018-19. Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon sits in second, with 138 points and with one game remaining on Thursday against the Oilers.
Sergachev came down the tunnel to the bench to congratulate Kucherov on 100 assists 🥲 pic.twitter.com/o9iMfpDZwq
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 18, 2024
Kucherov’s also part of the Hart Trophy conversation as league MVP. In what could be the tightest vote in years, with upwards of seven players who could be in the running in the opinion of THN.com’s Jason Chen, Kucherov’s factored into half of the Lightning’s 288 goals. He also has six game-winning goals this season for the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card seed.
And since the second-round Lightning draft pick in 2011 joined the NHL in 2013-14, Kucherov ranks fourth among NHL players in points, with 873 in 725 games. Only McDavid (982 points in 644 games), Sidney Crosby (929 in 801) and MacKinnon (897 in 790) have more during that time. On top of that, Kucherov ranks second in points per game in that span, with his 1.20 trailing McDavid’s 1.52.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2018-19 Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay winner will kick off his playoff campaign with the Lightning against the Florida Panthers on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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News Summary:
- Nikita Kucherov Reaches 100-Assist Campaign: Lightning Winger Continues to Impress
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