Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov on Friday became the player to rack up 100 points the quickest in an NHL season since the 1996-1997 campaign and helped the Lightning become runaway league leaders in the process.
The Russian on Thursday scored in the second period of Tampa Bay’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Buffalo Sabres, giving him 30 goals and 70 assists for the season and taking him to 100 points.
With the Lightning well clear at the top of the NHL with 98 points after 47 wins in 62 games, Kucherov is the fastest to 100 points in an NFL campaign since Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mario Lemieux needed only 61 about 22 years ago.
Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY
“It was a special moment. I thought we played really well, and, most importantly, it was two points for us [in the NHL standings],” the 25-year-old Russian said.
Since Lemieux, Kucherov is the first player to reach the 100-point milestone in less than 65 games and is on pace to finish this season with 132 points, which would be the most in a single NHL campaign season since Lemieux gained 161 points and Penguins teammate Jaromir Jagr added 149 in the 1995-1996 campaign.
“The biggest thing for me is how excited the guys were for him,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “To do it in 62 games, I think in the past 20 years, he’s in some pretty elite company. He’s doing it on a team that’s having a lot of success, and he’s a huge part of that.”
Lightning center and lineman Brayden Point has had a perfect view of Kucherov making history.
“You watch the games and see the chances he creates every night and you understand why he has got that many points,” Point said. “He just makes our team better and his linemates and whoever he’s on the ice with better. It’s pretty impressive to see. It’s awesome for him.”
Flames 2, Ducks 1
Andrew Mangiapane on Friday scored the game-winning goal late in the third period, while TJ Brodie collected a goal and an assist as hosts the Calgary Flames won their fourth consecutive game, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 2-1.
Goalie Mike Smith made 25 saves for the Flames, who strengthened their hold on the top spot in the Western Conference.
Mangiapane broke the tie with 3 minutes, 29 seconds remaining in regulation. He tried to make a pass on a two-on-one rush only to see it blocked. However, the puck came back to the speedy rookie, and he promptly buried a short-side offering for his third goal of the season, all in his past seven games.
Brodie and Anaheim’s Derek Grant scored in the second period. Ducks goalie Ryan Miller made 26 saves.
Jets 6, Golden Knights 3
Patrik Laine scored twice to snap a 15-game goalless drought as the Winnipeg Jets beat hosts the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp also scored for the Jets, who snapped a three-game losing streak and reclaimed the lead in the Central Division, moving a point ahead of the Nashville Predators.
Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Shea Theodore and Jonathan Marchessault scored for the Golden Knights, who are 3-9-1 in their past 13 games and have won just once in their past eight home games (1-6-1).
Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 of 28 shots.
In Friday’s other games, it was:
‧ Blue Jackets 3, Senators 0
‧ Avalanche 5, Blackhawks 3
‧ Wild 3, Red Wings 2
Additional reporting by Reuters
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