Kucherov has 5 points, Lightning cruise past Sharks for 7th win in row

SAN JOSE -- Nikita Kucherov had a goal and four assists, and Darren Raddysh scored his first NHL hat trick for the Tampa Bay Lightning in their seventh straight win, 7-3 against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Kucherov, who scored in his fifth consecutive game (seven goals), also extended his point streak to seven games (seven goals, 10 assists).

Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, and Brandon Hagel and Dominic James also scored for the Lightning (25-13-3), who won all three games on their California road trip. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.

"Got the lead, extended the lead, and protected the lead was basically the recipe," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "Pretty proud of the guys. You get the first two, [and] maybe [you] get a little complacent. They didn't. They got a little greedy and fired up."

Pavol Regenda scored his first career hat trick, and Macklin Celebrini had an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games (seven goals, 13 assists) for the Sharks (20-18-3), who had won three in a row and six of nine (6-3-0). Yaroslav Askarov allowed three goals on ten shots before being replaced early in the first period by Alex Nedeljkovic, who stopped 12 of 16 shots in relief.

"We weren't ready to play at the drop of the puck," San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said.

Point gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. While on a 3-on-2, Point took a pass from the left wing from Max Crozier and beat Askaov by the blocker with a wrist shot.

Raddysh extended it to 2-0 at 4:08. Kucherov turned behind the net and found Raddysh at the top of the right circle, and his one-timer got through the arm of Askarov.

"He's all-world; he's the Kucherov that we love to watch," Raddysh said. "He's a master at his craft. Just to play with him is special."

Hagel pushed it to 3-0 at 6:46. Jake Guentzel bumped a pass from the left wing to Hagel, driving the net, and his one-timer beat Askarov by the blocker. Nedeljkovic replaced Askarov following the goal.

Regenda cut it to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 10:50. He swept the puck in off both posts and over the goal line off a rebound of Timothy Liljegren's shot from the point following a pass from Celebrini.

"Incredible pass by [Celebrini]. Whatever he does, he's just incredible," Regenda said. "I was lucky that right after, I had another chance. Also, it was post, post, and in. I was like, Oh, my God, it's not going to go in."

Raddysh’s second goal came on the power play to extend it to 4-1 at 2:49 of the second period, a one-timer from the point that beat Nedeljkovic by the blocker.

James scored 1:06 later to make it 5-1 at 3:55. The puck bounced in front to James after a face-off, and he made a backhand move around Nedeljkovic's left pad.

Regenda’s second goal cut it to 5-2 at 9:50. Jeff Skinner skated down the left wing and shot off Vasilevskiy's left pad, and the rebound went to Liljegren in front before the puck deflected off Regenda and in.

Kucherov scored a power-play goal at 14:08 to make it 6-2 when his wrist shot beat Nedeljkovic by the blocker after skating down from the right wing.

Raddysh completed the hat trick with a one-timer on the power play to push it to 7-2 at 16:53, becoming the third defenseman in franchise history to accomplish the feat, joining Dan Boyle (Dec. 23, 2006) and Doug Crossman (Nov. 7, 1992).

"It's pretty special,” Raddysh said. “This organization has a lot of unbelievable players come through there, through their time, and you know, to be a part of this is something special. And I don't take (it) too lightly.”

Regenda then scored his third goal at 16:11 of the third period, sweeping the puck through the five-hole of Vasilevskiy for the 7-3 final.

"Really good,” San Jose forward William Eklund said of Regenda’s performance. “He's been skating all over the ice. Obviously, scoring a hat trick today, that's pretty special to do in the NHL. Big up to him for doing that."

NOTES: Kucherov recorded his franchise-record eighth career five-point game to tie Evgeni Malkin for third most among active players, behind Connor McDavid (12) and Nathan MacKinnon (11). … Darren and Taylor Raddysh (Oct. 23, 2025) became the first set of brothers to each score a hat trick against the same team in a season since Quebec Nordiques teammates Marian (Oct. 21, 1982) and Peter Stastny (Dec. 11, 1982) versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. ... Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin left the game after the first period and did not return. Warsofsky did not have an update.