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Kucherov-Stamkos Reunion Fells Sabres |
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The reuniting of Nikita Kucherov with Steven Stamkos paid immediate dividends as the duo led the Lightning to a 5-3 comeback victory over the Buffalo Sabres last night.
Stamkos’s spectacular December and January are a large reason why the Lightning have been blitzing opponents offensively and winning nearly all of their games. In October and November, Stamkos struggled with his puck-handling and was a reluctant shooter. His numbers were adequate, but not spectacular. But since December 1st, Stamkos has rounded out his game, accumulating points at a rapid rate.
Stamkos is forechecking well, transporting the puck with speed and precision, and, most importantly, hammering the puck on net. And therein lies the importance of Kucherov and Stamkos being reunited at even strength. Brayden Point might be tied for third in the NHL in goals, but he doesn’t have Stamkos’s shot. When Kucherov feeds Point, Point just doesn’t have the power, accuracy, or release on his shot to fully unleash Kucherov’s assist-creating potential. Even though Point is a willing and effective playmaker for Kucherov on the rush and cycle, Point can’t reciprocate the quick-strike offense with Kucherov the way Stamkos can. Stamkos has a rocket for a shot, but he can also feed Kucherov in myriad ways.
At 2-2 with under two minutes left in the second period, Coach Jon Cooper decided to put Kucherov with Stamkos and Ondrej Palat. Kucherov would still see time with Point and Tyler Johnson in the third period, sometimes leaving Yanni Gourde as the odd-man out, but it was telling when Point started with Anthony Cirelli to begin a four-on-four late in the third period. The Lightning penalty kill had just been erased by a Jack Eichel penalty on Ryan McDonagh that made it four a side. That used to be Stamkos’s spot with Cirelli, but now Stamkos was paired with Kucherov. Point and Stamkos were swapped. Everyone who follows the Lightning knew what was coming next. And the Kucherov-Stamkos duo delivered.
Kucherov received the puck from Victor Hedman, accelerated into the offensive zone, and laid a drop pass before setting a pick on Casey Mittelstadt to push back the Sabres’ defense and give Stamkos extra room for the shot.
The missile that came off Stamkos’s stick proved to be the game-winner. But the game-tying goal was revealing as well.
A sloppy neutral-zone regroup led to Stamkos tipping the puck into the offensive zone. But the puck failed to go deep and Lawrence Pilut retrieved the puck before it crossed the goal line. But, as the strong-side F3, Stamkos read the play and took away the boards from the young defenseman, intercepting the pass and immediately dishing it to Kucherov in the slot, which the league’s leading scorer proceeded to rip past Linus Ullmark.
The funny thing is that Point and Johnson were not playing poorly before the line change. After all, it was seconds into the beginning of the game that Point’s won faceoff cued up Kucherov, and Point stuffed in the rebound. The trio would have other scoring chances together as well. My guess is that the shakeup of the first two lines came about partly because of Gourde’s lackluster play.
Gourde’s season has been the inverse of Stamkos’s output. Gourde notched four goals and eight assists in October, following that up with five goals and four assists in November. Since then, his production has cratered. In December and January, Gourde played 19 games, yet he has a meager two goals and five assists. In fact, he is pointless in the five games the Lightning have played in January.
It gets worse. At 5v5, Gourde ranks 10th among Lightning players in Scoring Chances in that 19-game span, but he is sandwiched between Ryan Callahan, who played 15 games since December 1st, and J.T. Miller, who played 13. Fourth-liner Cedric Paquette played the same amount of games and accrued three more Scoring Chances.
Gourde is supposed to be prolific in the paint, or at least he was last year. Almost like a younger Joe Pavelski. So how is he faring in High-Danger Scoring Chances at 5v5? Gourde ranks 7th among Lightning forwards in that category. Maybe the problem is that he is collecting shot attempts from the perimeter and not around the crease? Not really. Gourde ranks 7th in Corsi For among Lightning forwards. This has not escaped Cooper’s attention. Gourde played over 18 minutes a game four times in October. In the last two months, he has only played over 18 minutes twice, and both games were in December. This month, he is playing under 15 minutes a game. Against Columbus, he played under 13.
The Lightning keep winning, but Cooper is tinkering. Anton Stralman was a healthy scratch last night. Gourde, who received a long-term extension this summer, is in the doghouse. And seemingly, Stamkos is back to playing with Kucherov. How the Lightning rejigger down the stretch will be a subject of fascination.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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