Friday 4: Nikita Kucherov’s unbelievable season by the numbers

Electrical. Explosive. Dazzling.

These are among the finest phrases to explain Connor McDavid, however not a lot the person who’s tied with him for the league lead in scoring.

Nikita Kucherov is cerebral, scientific, environment friendly and easy. He’s a special sort of elite expertise than absolutely anything we’ve ever seen. Kucherov’s hockey IQ is off the charts and there are some nights the place it seems to be like he barely breaks a sweat however you then go and test the boxscore and there are three factors subsequent to his identify.

That has by no means been extra true than this season, the place Kucherov has been so productive and so constant that you just nearly turn out to be numb to multi-point recreation after multi-point recreation. What’s most spectacular about this run is that Kucherov will flip 33 in June. When most gamers are beginning to decelerate, it appears like he’s simply getting began. Kucherov simply may be enjoying the most effective hockey of his profession.

After already matching his whole from final season, the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead wants 24 factors in his closing 11 video games to set a brand new profession excessive, a seemingly inconceivable activity for many. However Kucherov has been scoring at such an unbelievable tempo this season that it appears nearly believable. Three- and four-point video games are an everyday incidence for Kucherov, and the Lightning are nonetheless competing for the highest seed within the East, in order that they don’t determine to be resting anybody down the stretch.

If Kucherov breaks his career-best mark of 144 factors, will probably be onerous to not give him the Hart Trophy. Certain, Nathan MacKinnon, McDavid and Macklin Celebrini will make compelling circumstances, however Kucherov’s resume is hard to disregard. Kucherov has performed fewer video games than all three and his ice time per recreation is considerably lower than all of them. McDavid is enjoying practically three minutes extra per recreation than Kucherov, MacKinnon two minutes extra and Celebrini about a further minute and a half. If Kucherov can end forward of every of them in factors and win the Artwork Ross, it will be tough to make a case that he shouldn’t win the Hart, too.

These are just some of the spectacular numbers Kucherov has delivered this season, however they aren’t even his most jaw-dropping. With assist from the positive of us at Sportsnet Stats, let’s have a look at 4 of Kucherov’s most ridiculous stats from this season.

107 factors in his previous 53 video games

One of many issues that makes this Kucherov run so excellent is that he began the season off relatively pedestrian. In his first 14 video games, Kucherov had 14 factors and was held off the scoresheet six occasions. An 82-point tempo is definitely nothing to sneeze at, however since then, he’s fully taken off.

Kucherov has a whopping 107 factors in his previous 53 video games, a mean of greater than two factors per evening. Most gamers have by no means even come near a 100-point season of their profession, however Kucherov has eclipsed it with ease in slightly greater than a half a season. This can be a large purpose that Kucherov getting 24 factors in his previous 11 video games to set a brand new profession mark doesn’t appear that farfetched.

Over this 53-game stretch, Kucherov has primarily lapped his competitors. The subsequent closest participant to his 107 factors is McDavid with 96, a full 11 factors again of Kucherov. MacKinnon has 85 factors throughout this span, Leon Draisaitl 79 and Celebrini is at 70. Nobody is even shut.

Kucherov’s 107 factors over his previous 53 contests works out to be a 166-point tempo over 82 video games. To place that in perspective, there have been solely 9 seasons higher than that in NHL historical past and the one gamers to have achieved it are named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. You may’t have rather more elite firm than that.

Extra three-point video games than video games with no level

We talked about earlier that Kucherov was held with no level in six of his first 14 video games, however he’s been nearly inconceivable to decelerate ever since. This season, Kucherov has failed to choose up some extent in simply 13 video games, which implies over this 53-game stretch, particularly, he’s had solely seven scoreless outings.

Kucherov has truly had extra video games the place he scored at the least three factors than he’s been stored scoreless. This season, the 32-year-old has at the least three factors in 17 video games, in comparison with simply 13 scoreless video games. It’s an unbelievable feat that exhibits simply how dominate Kucherov could be and the way equally onerous he’s to cease.

This doesn’t even issue within the two-point video games Kucherov has. You may add 19 of these to his credentials, which implies Kucherov has multi-point outings in nicely over half his video games this season. It’s way more doubtless that Kucherov scores two factors or greater than it’s he’s going to be denied some extent.

9 video games with 4 factors or extra

It’s very uncommon for a participant to get 4 or extra factors in a recreation, except you’re Kucherov. He has a staggering 9 of them this season, which primarily works out to 1 out of each seven video games. Kucherov is principally delivering a four-point recreation as soon as each two weeks.

That’s simply essentially the most within the league this season and it’s three extra four-point video games than MacKinnon has this season, and only one fewer than each McDavid and Draisaitl have, mixed. As unbelievable as Celebrini has been, he has solely 4 video games with at the least 4 factors in 2025-26.

What’s much more spectacular? As this season wears on with a really condensed schedule, Kucherov has truly turned it up a notch down the stretch. Eight of his 9 four-plus level video games have come after Jan. 1, with three in March. One thing tells me Kucherov nonetheless has one or two extra left in him earlier than this yr is over as nicely.

46 extra factors than Tampa’s second-leading scorer

You’d assume on a staff as proficient because the Lightning, there can be a handful of gamers close to the highest of their scoring listing. Kucherov, although, has separated himself from the pack and has 45 extra factors than Tampa Bay’s second-leading scorer, Jake Guentzel. He’s additionally 51 factors up on Brandon Hagel, who sits third. Heading into Thursday evening, Kucherov had accounted for 48.2 per cent of the Lightning’s factors this season, which is sort of one share level greater than McDavid has compiled with the Oilers.

Celebrini truly has a bigger hole over San Jose Sharks second main scorer Will Smith at 49 factors, however that’s slightly extra comprehensible. The Sharks roster isn’t practically as proficient as Tampa’s, particularly up entrance. Given the season Celebrini is having, it’s not that stunning to see him with that large of a lead on Smith, however Tampa is loaded with expertise and skilled gamers. Hagel had 90 factors a yr in the past, Brayden Level has topped 90 thrice and Guentzel has completed at higher than some extent per recreation on two events. The truth that Kucherov has put a lot distance between himself and that group is really outstanding.

Having that extensive of a niche amongst prime scorers on a staff is once more one thing that solely the sport’s elite gamers have proven. Kucherov and Celebrini are nonetheless far off the biggest unfold in NHL historical past, which belongs to Gretzky. In 1981-82, Gretzky was 107 factors away from Glenn Anderson to steer the Edmonton Oilers in scoring. Gretzky truly owns six of the seven largest scoring gaps amongst first and second main scorers on a staff in league historical past, with Lemieux occupying the opposite spot. Anytime you’re having a season like Kucherov and getting talked about with Gretzky and Lemieux a number of occasions, it’s one thing fairly particular.