Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Kucherov needs only 62 games to reach 100 points

New Jersey Devils v Tampa Bay Lightning - Game Five

TAMPA, FL - APRIL 21: Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates a goal against the New Jersey Devils in the third period of Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on April 21, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Nikita Kucherov’s magnificent season continued on Thursday night when he became the first player in the NHL to hit the 100 point mark this season.

He reached it by scoring his 30th goal of the season to tie their game against the Buffalo Sabres, 1-1, midway through the second period.

This is a big deal for a couple of reasons.

For one, it is the second year in a row Kucherov has hit the century mark and makes him one of just six active players in the NHL to have multiple 100 point seasons, joining a list that includes only Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Joe Thornton, and Connor McDavid.

What makes this one so special for Kucherov is that he only needed 62 games to reach it, an unprecedented accomplishment in this era of the NHL. You have to go all the way back to the 1995-96 season to find the last time a player hit the 100-point mark this quickly when it was done by Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Before them you have to go back to 1994 when Wayne Gretzky did it for the Los Angeles Kings.

Obviously some pretty good company to be with.

Given the way Kucherov is not only running away with the scoring title, but is also having arguably the best offensive season the league has seen in 25 years, and is doing it for what is by far the best team in the NHL he would seem to be the runaway favorite to win the MVP award this season.

It would be awfully difficult to build an argument against him at this point.

Related: Lightning’s Kucherov is having season for the ages

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.