Friday, 4 a.m.
It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out how much Nikita Kucherov means to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In two wins, he has four goals.
In three losses, he has none.
Any questions?
Kucherov wss a waterbug again Thursday night, jittering all over the ice in a 4-3 victory over Vancouver. Kucherov had two goals, and seven shots, to lead the Bolts to their second home ice win of the year.
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That might be a big factor in the days ahead. The next four games for the Lightning are at Amalie Arena.
The Bolts fell behind 2-1 in the first 52 seconds of the second period. They gave up a goal to Brock Bowser 14 seconds into the period, and another to Tyler Myers 48 second later.
But the Bolts came back with a goal by Mike Eyssimont and then two in a row by Nikita Kucherov. Nick Paul had scored the Bolts’ first goal.
J.T. Miller scored an empty netter late in the third period.
Jonas Johansson stopped 26 of 29 shots for his second win of the season.
The Bolts are home against Toronto on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
