Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov scored his 900th point against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, but he could hit a larger milestone by the end of the season.
The right winger's three assists in the 6-5 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets brings him up to 11 goals, 18 helpers and 29 points in 18 games. That puts him on pace to score 132 points this season.
If he keeps producing at 1.61 points per game, he would be able to reach 1,000 career NHL points near the end of the season, specifically Game No. 81 on April 15, 2025, against the Florida Panthers.
The Russian playmaker reached the 900th-point milestone by setting up his longtime teammate Brayden Point.
It was a power-play assist to open the scoring less than two minutes into the contest. Kucherov made a quick backhand pass from the corner of the ice into the slot on Point’s stick, and he made no mistake on the shot.
Kucherov also recorded point No. 901 and 902 on Thursday. Almost two minutes after the first goal, he provided another primary assist. This time, he set up Brandon Hagel at even strength to double Tampa’s lead. For his third trick of the night, he provided a secondary assist on an Anthony Cirelli goal. At the time, that tied the game up at five.
Getting to 900 points is a historic milestone for the two-time Art Ross Trophy winner. Only two other players have recorded 900 points for the Lightning: Steven Stamkos and Martin St-Louis. Stamkos earned this feat in December 2021 and St-Louis in April 2013.
He also becomes the seventh Russian-born player in NHL history to reach 900 points. With 902 career points, he is only 16 points away from the next man ahead of him, recent Hockey Hall Of Fame inductee Pavel Datsyuk.
Kucherov is coming off a historic season when he became the fifth player in NHL history to record 100 assists, and he had a total of 144 points.
