Another big night for Nikita Kucherov is in the books. He has another three-point night, putting the Tampa Bay Lightning en route to a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. This outing marks the fourth straight game in which he has tallied three points in a game.
Kucherov extends his lead in the race to win his second career Art Ross Trophy with 139 points. He’s six points ahead of the second place Nathan MacKinnon (133) and the third place Connor McDavid (130).
Throughout the streak, Kucherov has one goal and a whopping 11 assists. As a bonus, Kucherov’s third point on the night assisted Steven Stamkos on an empty net goal to secure a hat trick, the 13th of Stamkos’ career.
Along with the streak, Kucherov picked up his 23rd three-point game of the season. In comparison, MacKinnon has 16 and McDavid has 17. He also has nearly double the number of three-point nights as he has had scoreless nights (12).
With four games to go, Kucherov is in the driver’s seat, but he can’t take his foot off the gas pedal. The competition in the review mirror is closer than it appears. After all, it’s MacKinnon and especially McDavid. This lead is only safe once he has the lead at the end of the regular season.
If he does hang on and continue to finish strong – he’s on pace for 144 points – Kucherov will have a strong case to take home the Hart Trophy, the award for the league’s MVP.