Facts and Figures: Kucherov takes over NHL scoring lead for hot Lightning

There is a new name in the top spot among the NHL's leading scorers Friday.

Not only did Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov have a goal and three assists to lift the Lightning to a 6-5 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Amalie Arena on Thursday, he moved into the lead in the League scoring race with 61 points (17 goals, 44 assists), one point ahead of Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen.
Kucherov needed 38 games to reach the 60-point mark, the fastest such instance in Tampa Bay history; the next fastest was Vincent Lecavalier, who did it in 41 games in 2007-08.
Kucherov set a Lightning record for points in a calendar month with 26 (seven goals, 19 assists), bettering the mark of 25 points co-held by Martin St. Louis (January 2004) and Lecavalier (November 2007). Kucherov also became the first player in Tampa Bay history with consecutive games having at least four points (nine in two games; two goals, seven assists).

He has four straight games with multiple points (13 points; three goals, 10 assists), the third time he has accomplished that in the NHL. There have been six instances of a Tampa Bay player with multiple points in at least five consecutive games, including one by Kucherov from March 18-27, 2017 (five games). Only one Lightning player has had a multipoint run longer than five games: Lecavalier from Nov. 3-19, 2007 (eight games).
Kucherov's run helped fuel Tampa Bay to a 13-game point streak (12-0-1 dating to Nov. 29). The Lightning record for longest point streak is 18 games (14-0-4), from Feb. 5-March 12, 2004.
Not to be outdone by his teammate, center Steven Stamkos set a Lightning record with his 14th goal of December, which set a Tampa Bay mark for goals in a calendar month; the previous record of 13 was co-held by St. Louis (January 2004) and Kucherov (October 2017).
The last two NHL players to score at least 14 goals in December were Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (14 in 2010) and Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla (14 in 2007).
The last player to score more than 14 goals in December was Penguins center Mario Lemieux in 1996, who scored 17 goals in 15 games. Stamkos has one more game to reach that mark; the Lightning play at the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, SUN, NHL.TV).

Crosby nears 900-game milestone

With two assists in a 5-2 win at the Detroit Red Wings, Crosby increased his NHL career totals to 1,159 points (427 goals, 732 assists) in 898 games and passed Daniel Alfredsson (1,157) for sole possession of 52nd place on the League's all-time points list.
Crosby, who is expected to play in his 900th NHL game against the Minnesota Wild on Monday, trails San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton, with 1,443 points (402 goals, 1,041 assists), and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, with 1,039 points (636 goals, 531 assists), for most points among active NHL players.
Seven players in League history recorded more assists than the Penguins captain through their 900th game: Wayne Gretzky (1,375), Lemieux (1,025), Paul Coffey (817), Adam Oates (792), Peter Stastny (758), Denis Savard (754) and Bryan Trottier (744).

Eleven players had more than 1,159 points through their 900th NHL game; Gretzky topped the list with 2,085 points in 900 games, more than any other player has had in an entire career.

Kane proves able

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane scored his fifth NHL hat trick in a 5-2 win against the Wild. He extended his point streak to six games (10 points; five goals, five assists) and reached the 20-goal mark for the 12th consecutive season.
Kane became the 14th player in NHL history to score 20 or more goals in each of his first 12 seasons. The only other players with at least 12 consecutive 20-goal seasons at any point for the Blackhawks are Stan Mikita (14) and Bobby Hull (13).
Kane, who is from Buffalo, also became the second United States-born player to score at least 20 goals in at least 12 consecutive seasons at any point in his NHL career, joining Keith Tkachuk (Melrose, Massachusetts), who also had 12 such campaigns. Penguins forward Phil Kessel (Madison, Wisconsin) is four goals shy of his 11th straight 20-goal season in the NHL.