Are there any superlatives that haven’t been used to describe the brilliance of Nikita Kucherov? Probably not. If the word is laudatory, then it's probably been used to describe Kucherov.
Once again, Kucherov was dazzling again in Saturday night's 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at the Rogers Place.
Kucherov had two goals and two assists to take over the NHL's scoring lead by two points. Kucherov now has 40 goals and 78 assists on the year.
It was his fourth season with at least 40 goals. Kucherov leads the Oilers' Connor McDavid by two points.
It was the third straight win for the Bolts.
Kucherov's biggest goal may have been his first-ever shorthanded goal as the Lightning was killing off a two-man Oilers' advantage.
Anthony Cirelli also had two goals, bringing him to 19 on the year. Jake Guentzel scored his 31st goal.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 of 27 shots. The Oilers' second goal was actually an own-goal by Oliver Bjorkstrand.
The Bolts play at Calgary tonight at 6 p.m. at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Because this is hockey, there are nights the offense dries up. There are nights the opposing goalie is too big, and the opposing net is too small.
Then there are nights where everything clicks.
The Tampa Bay Lightning scored six goals for the second consecutive game Thursday night, taking a 6-2 win over the NHL's worst team, the Vancouver Canucks.
Along the way, Jake Guentzel became the third Bolt to score 30 goals on the season (along with Nikita Kuchrerov and Brandon Hagel).
Kucherov had a goal and an assist and is now in second place (behind Connor McDavid) in the league scoring race.
Darren Raddysh, Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde and Hagel also had goals.
The Bolts next play in Edmonton Saturday at 10 p.m. at the Rogers Place.
It was apparent that the Tampa Bay Lightning had lost their mojo in recent days.
But who knew they'd find it again in Seattle, of all places?
The Bolts, 2-9 in their previous 11 games, looked a lot like the team that had closed out the first portion of the season so strongly in a 6-2 romp over the Seattle Kraken in Climate Pledge Arena.
It did seem obvious that, no matter where the Bolts would rediscover its rhythm, Nikita Kucherov would lead the charge.
Kucherov had a hat trick -- the seventh of his career -- and five total points in the win. Brandon Hagel had three assists (plus a goal) and Anthony Cirelli had two assists (and a goal).
Andrei Vasilevskiy beat Seattle for the seventh time in his career without a loss. He stopped 16 of 18 shots for his 31st victory.
Kucherov now has 37 goals on the season (and 111 points).
Hagel scored his 32nd. Cirelli has 16 and Gage Goncalves has 11.
The Bolts travel to Vancouver's Rogers Arena Thursday night at 10 p.m.
The Tampa Bay Lightning get off a dreadful start, an absolutely miserable start. They fall behind 2-0 in a hurry.
And, surprise, they fight back. They tie score at 2-2, and turn catastrophe into something salvageable.
Then, ignoring the opportunity to take over, they fade away to another loss.
The Bolts fell to 2-7 in their last nine games with a 4-2 loss to Carolina. It's a pattern that has become common, a fight back onto to fade in the third period.
The Bolts tied the game in the second period on goals by Charle-Edoard D'Astous and Yanni Gourde. But Carolina shut the Bolts down in the third period.
The Bolts got off only 19 shots. Tampa Bay goaltender Andri Vasileskiy allowed three goals on 34 shots.
The Bolts are in Seattle to face the Kracken at 10 p.m. Tuesday at the Climate Pledge Arena.
Friday, 4 a.m. Is it over? Is the plunge off of the cliff complete? Are the Tampa Bay Lightning through with their slump yet? Well, for a night, it was, anyway. The struggling Tampa Bay Lightning at least put their troubles on hold for a game Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena. The Bolts beat […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. So who cares about the Olympics? Certainly not the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had the NHL’s hottest streak interrupted by this year’s Games. Since coming back, however, the Bolts are 2-6 and caught in mid-swoon. The Bolts were blown away by the Columbus Blue Jackers Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena. They’ve […]
Monday, 4 a.m. Coming from behind was kind of cool. Falling from ahead? That was terrible. The bad news was worse than the good was. for the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday night. The Bolts were hammered early, came roaring back and then were re-hammered late in an 8-7 loss to Buffalo. The teams, battling for […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. He is songs on the radio. He is drops in a rain forest. He is grains of sand on the beach. He is Nikita Kucherov, and he deals in points. Kucherov, the Lightning’s creative forward, was at it again Saturday night. He had four assists in the Bolts’ 5-2 win over Toronto, […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. Blame it on the Olympics. Blame it on the schedule. Blame it the ebbs and flows of the NHL season. Blame whoever, but the Tampa Bay Lighting are officially in a slump. The Bolts lost their third straight game — and played their fourth straight most disappointing effort — in a 5-1 […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. Imagine a world with a pedestrian goaltender. Imagine Andrei Vasilevskiy getting overwhelmed. It might look something like this. Imagine an existence where Nikita Kucherov is just another skater in the crowd? Imagine no goals, no assists, no danger. Yeah, like Saturday’s game. The Tampa Bay Lightning took it in the nose, getting […]
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About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.
Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.
