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Nikita Kucherov, a silent superstar in the making |
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During the postgame coverage following Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday, NBC Sports Net went to a locker room shot of Nikita Kucherov addressing the assembled media around his locker stall.
The brief clip was hardly must see television as Kucherov's voice could barely be heard discussing another heroic playoff effort. Even the panel pointed out the low audible levels produced by the soft-spoken Kucherov.
On the ice, however, Kucherov makes plenty of noise. And actions speak louder than words.
Kucherov showed that once again as he put his stamp on the Eastern Conference finals with a pair of goals, his third multi-goal game of the 2016 postseason. It marked his third consecutive multi-point game and sixth multi-point game of the playoffs. His three-point night - he also picked up an assist on Tyler Johnson's overtime winner - marked his third three-point game in 15 playoff games, tying a franchise record with Steven Stamkos for most three-point games in a single playoff season, which Kucherov also did last playoffs.
With Kucherov, a second-round pick in 2011, it's not just about how he puts up those points, it's the timing. In Sunday's victory against Pittsburgh, his first goal of the night was the tying goal to help Tampa Bay erase a two-goal deficit early in the second period. Then with time starting to run out, he picked up a puck around the net, raced around the back of the goal, and deposited a wrap-around in to the vacated side with 3:16 left in regulation to tie the game.
This has started to earn him the nickname of Nikita Klutcherov. The moniker has merit.
In the second round against the New York Islanders, Kucherov scoring the third period tying goal in Game 3 with 39 seconds left to send the game to overtime, which Tampa Bay won in overtime. In Game 4 three nights later, Kucherov again scored the third-period tying goal, this time with 7:49 left to send the game once again to overtime, and once again the Lightning won.
Against Detroit in the opening round, Kucherov had the tying goal in the second period of Game 1 that Tampa Bay won in the third.
Last playoff season,when Kucherov finished with 10 goals in 26 postseason games, he scored both overtime winning goals for Tampa Bay - Game 1 against Montreal in the second round and Game 3 of the conference finals against the New York Rangers.
"It just seems the bigger the moment, the bigger (players like Kucherov) rise to the occasion,'' Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said after Sunday's Game 5 victory. "He is proving that last
year wasn't a fluke, and he is -- he's just a gifted, skilled, determined player. He's really a pleasure to coach.''
With 11 goals this postseason, Kucherov leads all playoff performers and is perhaps a leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. And with back-to-back, double-digit playoff campaigns, Kucherov joined some exclusive company scoring 10-or-more playoff goals before his 23rd birthday. The only other two players to accomplish that feat are Jeremy Roenick (1990 and 1992) and Evgeni Malkin (2008 and 2009).
To put that in perspective, this stat courtesy of Arpon Basu of NHL.com
Then there is the often overlooked aspect of Kucherov's game - he plays all 200 feet of the rink with the same determination he shows in the offensive one with the puck on his stick.
Kucherov currently leads all players in the playoffs with a plus-17 rating and overall is a plus-24 in 41 postseason games the past two seasons.
"That's not just being responsible and scoring on one end. That means you're being responsible on the other end, too,'' Cooper said. "I don't think guys like him get enough credit for how
they play the whole ice, and he's a big time player for us.''
Action speak louder than words.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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