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Lightning, Kucherov finish season making serious history

kucherovhits128

Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning could have let up, and rested, a long time ago.

Kucherov reached the 100-point mark in February, needing just 62 games to do so. The Lightning ridiculously clinched the Presidents’ Trophy on March 18.

For weeks, and really for all of the 2018-19 season, it hasn’t just been about playing well and winning games. This has been a season where the Lightning and their star winger have been chasing history. In defeating the Boston Bruins 6-3 on Saturday, the Lightning won their 62nd game, joining the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings as the only teams to ever do so in NHL history.

There’s beautiful symmetry, too, to the Lightning finishing with 128 standings points (62-16-4) while Kucherov ended what’s easily been the best season of his career with ... yes, 128 points. He generated two points on Saturday, passing Alexander Mogilny’s 127 points as the most points scored in a single season by a Russian-born player.

(Kucherov’s hit certain milestones like 70 points while the Lightning crossed that same points barrier at times this season, so the player and the team have been in lockstep with each other in generating these incredible accomplishments.)

While the record-breaking point came via a less exciting assist on an empty-netter, Kucherov’s 127th point of the season was tremendous, even if - in very Kucherov fashion - he made it look easy. This video includes both points:

The headlines will be dominated by the Lightning tying that win mark, and Kucherov setting a new record for a Russian-born skater, and rightfully so. Still, sometimes you don’t really absorb the dominance of a player or team until you really stack up the numbers and milestones, so here are some other remarkable statistics from what has been one of the greatest runs in league history.


  • The Lightning’s 128 points stand as the fourth-most in NHL history.
  • As you might expect, the Lightning’s firepower stacks up with some of the best the league’s ever seen (especially if you account for this still being an era where goals are harder to come by). Tampa Bay finished the season with 325 goals, the highest total since the Penguins scored 362 in 1995-96.
  • They only allowed 222 goals against, putting the Lightning’s goal differential at a whopping +103. That’s the best since the Senators also managed a +103 differential back in 2005-06. (It’s easy to forget how explosive those Senators teams were, for a simple reason that should make Tampa Bay gulp: Ottawa couldn’t win a Stanley Cup.)
  • Sportsnet notes that the Lightning are the first team to manage a power-play percentage at 28 percent since the Flames did it way back in 1987-88.
  • Bryan Burns of the Lightning team website points out that the Lightning are also only the second team (joining the 2005-06 Red Wings) to reach at least 30 road wins. Tampa Bay finished with 30, one behind Detroit’s 31.

There are also some interesting notes about Kucherov, as well as Steven Stamkos.


  • Kucherov’s 87 assists tie Jaromir Jagr for the most assists in a single season by a winger. Jagr collected 87 back in 1995-96.
  • With 98 points, Steven Stamkos set a new career-high. He’s really been heating up lately, too, as he has 10 goals in as many games (finishing the season with 45).

Pretty amazing all around.

Of course, some will view all of this history made as hollow if the Lightning can’t win a Stanley Cup. That seems unfair, but it’s the way sports work.

If this run goes off the rails during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, some might wonder: was it worth it to chase history? Would it have been better to rest players instead, Kucherov included? On the other hand, the Bolts would likely counter that it’s better to go into a postseason playing sharp rather than risking rust.

However the matchups finish by the end of Saturday, the Lightning are set to face a rather difficult first-round matchup in the Hurricanes or Blue Jackets. Then again, looking at their numbers, maybe it doesn’t matter who they face -- in any round?

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.