Nikita Kucherov’s 1,138th career point made him the Tampa Bay Lightning’s all-time leading scorer on Saturday and helped Tampa Bay earn a standings point in the process.
Kucherov’s latest achievement was the standout moment for the visitors in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center.
"It’s fine,” Kucherov said of the record. “I mean, we just lost the game. Tough one, so I don't even know what to think. But it means a lot. I appreciate everyone who's played with me and been part of it. It means a lot."
Kucherov’s record-breaking point came on an assist 12:42 into the game on a Lightning power play. The 33-year-old forward fired a shot pass from the right wall to the net, where Brayden Point tapped the puck into the open cage to make it 3-1 on Kucherov’s record-breaking assist.
“To see him work at it and get it, no one’s more deserving than he is,” Point said. “He really puts in the work, and I’m really happy for him.”
The Kucherov record was part of a five-goal first period between the teams.
Jake Guentzel and Kailer Yamamoto each scored on own goals for a 1-1 game early, and the Lightning cushioned the lead midway through the frame when Pontus Holmberg rushed down the left side of the ice and fired his shot from the faceoff circle off the far post and in.
Point’s power-play goal extended the lead to 3-1 and marked the fourth straight game that the Lightning have scored on the power play. It was Point’s 112th career power-play goal, tying Vincent Lecavalier for second most in franchise history.
“You’ve always got to be ready when Kuch has it, we know that,” Point said. “He puts the pass on my stick and it laid there for me, and I’m just able to whack it in.”
A busy first period ended with a Utah response on their own power play, this one a Dylan Guenther one-timer from the left circle.
There was more offense waiting in the second period, too.
Conor Geekie beat Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev down the ice for a breakaway and roofed his chance to make it 4-2 in the opening minutes of the middle frame before Utah’s comeback began.
Utah took over to end the middle frame, taking advantage of turnovers, power play momentum and open ice to tie the game. Anders Lee tipped home the 4-3 goal seconds after a power play, and defenseman Dmitri Simashev evened the score with a late shot from the point.
The third period brought more chances for both teams but no goals—in part thanks to nine saves from Lightning goalie Dennis Hildeby—before the night ended in overtime when Simashev buried the winner at the left post on a 2-on-1 rush.
“We got off to a good start tonight. We had the lead and we gave that up, and that’s the hard part,” Point said. “But I thought our compete was better and our playmaking was better. It ended tough in overtime, but for the most part I liked our effort.”
Tampa Bay outshot the Mammoth 32 to 28 as Hildeby finished with 23 saves. The Lightning went 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Saturday wrapped up the team’s Western Conference road trip with a 1-1-1 record. They are now 7-3-1 this season.
“These are three playoff teams, and a lot of them are Stanley Cup contenders,” coach Jon Cooper said. “We would’ve loved to get one more (point) tonight but…getting three, we’ll take it. It’s the back to back, the altitude, there’s a whole bunch of things that went into it. But I thought it was a pretty gutty effort.”
Tampa Bay gets a few days off before hosting the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday at Benchmark International Arena.
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Dmitri Simashev, UTA (2 goals)
- Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Assist)
- Vincent Trocheck, UTA (2 assists)
