Kucherov fastest to 100 points since 1995-96
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov‘s goal in the second period against Buffalo on Thursday night gave him his 100th point of the season, making him the quickest to that milestone in more than 20 years.
Kucherov, who leads the NHL in scoring, reached the century mark in the Lightning‘s 62nd game. He’s the fastest to 100 points since 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux did it in the Penguins’ 44th game and teammate Jaromir Jagr followed suit in Pittsburgh’s 52nd game.
It’s Feb. 21 and @86Kucherov has 100 points.
The 25-year-old @TBLightning forward is the first player in 22 years to hit 100 points in 62 or fewer games – Mario Lemieux did so in his 61st game in 1996-97. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/Vb2VoUwCrw
Steven Stamkos and Kucherov scored in the shootout, giving Tampa Bay a 2-1 win and 100 points on the season. The Lightning, who ran their winning streak to eight on Thursday, are the fastest team to 47 wins in NHL history.
Kucherov, 25, is in his sixth season with the Lightning and has now reached 100 points for a second straight year. A second-round draft pick of the Lightning in 2011, he is one of three Tampa Bay players — along with Brayden Point and Stamkos — among the NHL’s top 10 scorers.
Kucherov, who has four consecutive 30-goal seasons, becomes the sixth active player to record consecutive 100-point seasons, joining Joe Thornton, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin and Connor McDavid. He is also the fourth Russian-born player to record consecutive 100-point seasons in NHL history, joining Pavel Bure, Malkin and Ovechkin.
Information from ESPN Stats and Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.