FIRST STAR – NIKITA KUCHEROV, RW, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Kucherov, who will be making his fifth career NHL All-Star Game appearance this weekend in Toronto, paced the League with 4-5—9 and a +7 rating (tied) in three contests to lift the Lightning (27‑18‑5, 59 points) to a perfect week and into third place in the Atlantic Division. He registered 3-1—4, his fifth career hat trick and 25th career four-point performance, in a 6-3 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers Jan. 23. Kucherov then posted 1-2—3, his 13th outing with at least three points in 2023-24, in a 6‑3 win against the Arizona Coyotes Jan. 25. He finished the week with a pair of assists in a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils Jan. 27, his 26th multi-point effort through 49 total games this season (53.1%). The 30-year-old Kucherov, who won the Art Ross Trophy in 2018-19, currently tops the NHL with 32-53—85 in 2023-24 (one point more than Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon: 31‑53—84 in 49 GP). Kucherov also ranks among this season’s leaders in power-play assists (1st; 26), power-play points (1st; 37), assists (t-1st; 53), shots on goal (3rd; 210), goals (4th; 32) and power-play goals (t-4th; 11).
