Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov of Maykop, Russia recorded his fifth career National Hockey League hat trick on Tuesday. He accomplished the feat in a 6-3 Lightning win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
How and When did Kucherov score his three goals?
Kucherov put the Lightning up 2-0 on an even strength goal with one minute and 15 seconds left in the first period. Brandon Hagel of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and defenseman Darren Raddysh of Toronto, Ontario picked up the assists. Kucherov then put the Lightning up 3-0 from Brayden Point of Calgary, Alberta and Steven Stamkos of Markham, Ontario at 2:24 of the second period on the power-play. Kucherov then closed out the scoring with 11 seconds left in the third period. He scored into an empty net from centre Anthony Cirelli of Etobicoke, Ontario and defenseman Nicklaus Perbix of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In addition to the hat trick, Kucherov had an assist for a four point night. Kucherov helped set up Michael Eyssimont of Littleton, Colorado with the game-winning goal with two minutes and 18 seconds left in the third period. At the time, the Lightning went up 4-2.
Kucherov’s four prior hat tricks
Kucherov notched his first career hat trick on October 28, 2014 in a 7-3 Lightning win over the Arizona Coyotes. He also scored thrice in a game in a 5-1 Lightning win over the Ottawa Senators on February 27, 2017, in a 6-3 Lightning win over the Boston Bruins on March 23, 2017 and in a 6-1 Lightning win over the Buffalo Sabres on January 11, 2022.
Kucherov in 2023-24
This season, Kucherov has 31 goals and 49 assists for a NHL-high 80 points in 47 games. He is a +1 with 12 penalty minutes, 36 power-play points, five game-winning goals, 199 shots on goal, two faceoff wins, 19 blocked shots, 19 hits, 41 takeaways, and 62 giveaways.
Third in the Atlantic
With the win, the Lightning improved to a record of 25 wins, 18 regulation losses and five losses in extra time for 55 points. They are in third place in the Atlantic Division.
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