The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Raleigh to start their season on Friday. In an emotional game due to the havoc back at home caused by Hurricane Milton, the Lightning win was one to boost everyone’s spirits. There is something about beating a team called the Hurricanes right now that’s extra satisfying.
The win also saw a familiar sight for sore eyes. Nikita Kucherov picked up right where he left off from his historic Art Ross Trophy-winning season with a four-point night to open regular-season play. Kucherov had a hat trick and an assist. This effort, which saw him touch the puck for every goal, earned him the first star of the game.
Last season, he was involved in 50% of the team’s scoring. So far, he’s at 100%.
Kucherov’s Big Night
The Hurricanes were the ones to open the scoring when William Carrier wrapped around the net, passing the puck to Jordan Staal, who poked the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy in front of the net. The score remained 1-0 Carolina after 20.
The Lightning tied it up in the second period when Kucherov set up Brayden Point for a shot up front to tie 1-1.
Fast-forward to the third period, Victor Hedman passed the puck to Kucherov who slapped a one-timer to the back of the net to make it 2-1. He then picked up two quick empty-netters to pick up the hat trick and give the Lightning a 4-1 win.
For someone who had eight games of four points or more in 2023-24 (as well as a ridiculous 41 total multi-point games), it was a classic Kucherov kind of night.
Related: 3 Impressions From the Lightning’s Victory Over the Hurricanes
If you want to get technical, Kucherov is now on pace for 246 goals, 82 assists and 328 points. Is it sustainable? Funny enough, one of those stats actually is – the assists. He had 100 assists last season, making him the fifth player in history to reach the mark. So, in theory, his big night has him 18 assists behind his pace from last season.
There are actually three different seasons where he did better than what his current pace is. It’s a testament to how good the guy is. He can be on pace for a very good season, and for him, it would be a drop-off.
Next Art Ross Race Is a Go for Nikita Kucherov
Kucherov has played one game, and he’s already up there on the leaderboard with players who have played multiple games. For example, the points leader right now is Jack Eichel with six. Kucherov is only two behind and could pass him in the next game.
Of the top 10 players on the points leaderboard, everyone besides Kucherov has played at least two games. I haven’t even mentioned yet that Kucherov is tied for second in goals. Again, not too shabby of a start.
These extremely early competitors for the Art Ross Trophy and the Rocket Richard Trophy will get the chance to pull further ahead. They all get to play another game before Kucherov. The Lightning’s first home game, originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
Their next game is currently scheduled for Monday, Oct. 15. Kucherov is going to find himself with plenty of games in hand for any award race this season.
Kucherov was the winner of the Art Ross Trophy for 2023-24. It was his second time winning the award, first taking it home in 2018-19. He was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, which he lost out on to Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon. Had Kucherov won, it would have been his second, which he also won in 2018-19.
So, with that, the Lightning pick up a strong first win of the season-opening night on the back of their best player once again. Last season, he willed them to a playoff spot. The Lightning are going to need to provide him more support this season if they want to do more than just make the playoffs. However, there are 81 more games to figure out how this team looks as a whole.
