Seemingly extra motivated by last season’s MVP snub, Nikita Kucherov has stormed into this one with blistering intensity and a newfound hunger for scoring goals. To the surprise of many, he’s emerged as an early contender for the Rocket Richard Trophy, shooting the puck much more often than in previous years.
Watching Kucherov take charge and lean into a more shoot-first mentality has been an exciting change for fans accustomed to his playmaking style. Known for his powerful shot, Kucherov has never had trouble finding the net — already tallying 330 career goals in the NHL — but now he’s consistently looking to score himself rather than always setting up his teammates. He’s also frequently driving down the center of the ice, taking shots from new areas rather than sticking to his typical spots on the right side.
Kucherov's best game of the month came in Tampa Bay’s season opener on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes, where he had an electrifying start with a four-point night that included his sixth career hat trick. His first goal of the season, the 875th point of his career, moved him ahead of Vinny Lecavalier for the third-most points in Tampa Bay Lightning franchise history.
Nikita Kucherov starts the season off with the sixth hat trick of his career! 👏 #NHLFaceOff
— NHL (@NHL) October 12, 2024
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/oOeVDCdSaU
With an assist on Brayden Point’s goal, Kucherov also contributed on every single goal the Lightning scored that night — a rare feat, not often seen in the NHL.
Speaking of rare achievements, this was also his second natural hat-trick in the NHL, the first dating back to February 27, 2017, when he netted three in a single period against the Ottawa Senators. For those interested, we’ve linked a video of his first one below, even though all three goals look almost identical.
After the victory against the Hurricanes, Kucherov’s critics quickly took to social media to alert the world that two-thirds of the natural hat-trick were scored on an empty net. Unfortunately for them, with two Stanley Cup rings, he’s not one to lose sleep over fan chatter and has no difficulty ignoring his haters.
The Bolts then continued their hot start at home, winning their next two games against the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights. During that three-game span, Kucherov scored six of the team's 12 total goals.
In the month of October, through the first 10 games of the season, Kucherov had nine goals and eight assists, including an eight-game point streak that tied him for the second-longest to start a season in franchise history. The current record for Tampa Bay is an 11-game streak held in a three-way tie by Martin St. Louis (2009), Stamkos (2017), and Kucherov himself (2017). Unfortunately, that point streak ended in their highly anticipated game against the Nashville Predators in Steven Stamkos’ return to Tampa Bay. Despite plenty of chances to extend the streak, including a close breakaway in overtime and a goal overturned for offside, Kucherov was held off the scoresheet in the Lightning’s thrilling overtime win over the Predators.
The entire Tampa team as a whole has looked outstanding in October, winning seven of their first ten games and currently sitting in second place in the Atlantic Division, trailing only their cross-state rivals, the Florida Panthers. As we look ahead, we wonder if the Lightning can continue their strong start to the 2024/25 season in November, or if we will start to see some regression as other teams begin studying them more.