Tampa Bay Lightning F Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov named NHL Stars of the Week
Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov were named the NHL’s 1st and 2nd Stars of the Week respectively
It’s been a good week for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They secured 7 points in the standings, moved to first place overall in the league, and absolutely embarrassed the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is always a good time.
As a reward for their dominance, the NHL has named Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov as the league’s 1st and 2nd Stars of the Week respectively.
It would have been impossible to miss the presence of both Kucherov and Stamkos during these games. Kucherov skated his way into the history books of the NHL by becoming just the 6th player in the league’s modern era to score a goal in each of his first 7 games. His streak was finally broken during the Lighting’s 2-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Even though his goal streak has been broken, his point streak is still intact, as he has at least one point in every game the Lightning have played in so far. Kuch’s 10 goals tie him with Alex Ovechkin for most in the league, and his 16 total points land him in second place overall scoring.
Steven Stamkos’s accomplishments have been more under the radar than Kucherov’s. Stamkos is currently leading the NHL in point totals with 18. He is also leading the league in assists with 15.
Like Kucherov, Stamkos also has also scored at least one point in each of the 9 games played so far. He is also the first player since Thomas Vanek in 2012-2013 to average at least 2 points per game to start the season.
Stamkos has also hit a few milestones that have gone rather unnoticed. During the Bolts 7-1 rout of the Penguins, Stamkos scored career Power Play goal number 113 and passed Vincent Lecavalier for the Bolt’s franchise all-time Power Play goal record. Later during the game, he scored career point number 600 off of an assist on Mikhail Sergachev‘s Power Play goal.
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Both players have performed spectacularly to start the season. Currently, every offensive statistic is led by either Kucherov or Stamkos, with the exception of plus-minus rating. The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a, well, electric, start and they hope to build on their win streak tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes.