Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov quietly among NHL’s best again as playoff showdown with Florida arrives

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — In a crowded field of generational talents, Tampa Bay Lightning wing Nikita Kucherov hides in plain sight.

That’s often the case with Kucherov, who just won his second consecutive regular-season scoring title and third overall. Yet when discussions turn to the top players in the game today, the conversation tends to turn to Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby or Cale Makar.

Kucherov’s resume as he gets set to lead the Lightning into their first-round playoff matchup against Florida makes clear he is one of the best of his generation.

“No question,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “They’re all unique in their own ways. They all have these genuine, generational attributes to their game. Kuch is right up there with them.”

After collecting another Art Ross Trophy with 121 points and tying MacKinnon for the league lead with 84 assists, Kucherov continues to put his name alongside some of the greatest to ever play the game. He is one of only 10 players to win at least three scoring titles and one of 14 to record at least three seasons with at least 120 points. He joined Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey as the only players who have recorded three consecutive seasons with at least 80 assists.

Those numbers jump off the page. How Kucherov reached them does not. His newer teammates now see that up close.

“Definitely a way higher appreciation for him as a player,” said Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons, who spent the first 11 years of his career with Buffalo. “You see him a couple times a year, hell of a player. But then you see him day-to-day and see the stuff he can do is just amazing.”

Jake Guentzel spent eight seasons in Pittsburgh where he played primarily on a line with Crosby. After signing an eight-year contract following a trade to Tampa Bay before the season, Guentzel set a career high with 41 goals and led the league with 17 power play goals.

Guentzel figured out quickly how to play with Kucherov.

“You get awed at the plays he makes, game in and game out,” he said. “The things he does, it’s pretty incredible. … These guys, they think the game at a high level. Because (they) are elite passers and high-end playmakers, you just have to be ready at all times.”

Kucherov works on his craft, spending hours in the summer months on the ice. He dedicates that time to working on aspects of his game such as pulling a puck off the wall with his backhand.

“I don’t think I’ve seen him miss a rim since I’ve been here,” rookie center Conor Geekie said. “It’s just little things like that (which) sometimes goes overlooked. He’s special. To be 20 years old and watch one of the greatest, in my opinion, playmakers ever, I think it’s a blessing. He’s just really good at slowing the game down, changing the pace. He’s something special.”

While McDavid and MacKinnon are capable of wowing in real time with their speed and pace, the tape often has to be slowed down to realize some of the plays Kucherov pulls off.

“The subtleness of some of the passes he makes, can’t really see them from the bench,” rookie forward Gage Goncalves said. “You watch him on the replay, and (the puck) went over one guy’s stick and through the other guy’s legs and landed flat perfectly on the tape. That’s the type of player he is and he works hard at it every single day.”

If the Lightning are going to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the fifth time since 2015, Kucherov will be a big part of it, just like he’s done in the past. With four more postseason points, he will crack the top 20 all time in playoff scoring.

“To be able to put the point totals he’s putting up year after year, and he has some of the best statistics in the playoffs of all time, that’s how you build cases for Hall of Famers,” Cooper said. “You’re not a one-hit wonder, you’re a one-decade wonder, and he’s going to be more than that.’’

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