It has been quite the season for Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov. On Wednesday he made National Hockey League history. In a 6-4 Lightning win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kucherov became the fifth player in the NHL to have 100 assists in a single NHL regular season.
When and how did Kucherov record his 100th assist?
Kucherov set up Brayden Point of Calgary, Alberta at 17:05 of the second period on the power-play. At the time, the Lightning went up 4-1. The power-play goal scored by Point was the only special teams goal scored in the hockey game, as the other nine goals were even strength.
Who are the other four players?
The other four players to record 100 assists in a season were Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr of Parry Sound, Ontario, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles centre Wayne Gretzky of Brantford, Ontario, and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Mario Lemieux of Montreal, Quebec. McDavid actually accomplished the feat for the first time in his career when he had his 100th assist in a 9-2 Oilers clobbering over the San Jose Sharks on Monday. Orr was the first player to register 100 assists in a season as he had 102 helpers in 1970-71. He is the only defenseman to accomplish the feat. Gretzky then had 100 assists a remarkable 11 straight seasons from 1980-81 to 1990-91. The first nine seasons were with the Oilers and the last two seasons were with the Kings. In 1985-86, Gretzky set a NHL record f0r most assists in a season with 163. Lemieux meanwhile had 114 assists with the Penguins in 1988-89. Kucherov is the only player born outside of Canada to have 100 assists in a season as he is from Maykop, Russia.
Kucherov in 2023-24
In 81 games, Kucherov had 44 goals and 100 assists for 144 points. He was a +8 with 22 penalty minutes, 53 power-play points, six game-winning goals, 306 shots on goal, two faceoff wins, 35 blocked shots, 45 hits, 62 takeaways, and 96 giveaways.
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