Callahan, the former Lightning forward who now is an analyst for NHL Network, believes it's a big reason why Kucherov has had the success he's had in the playoffs and the Lightning are three victories from winning the Stanley Cup.
"I've noticed that this year in the playoffs he seems to be controlling his emotions a lot better than he has in the past and not wearing his emotions on his sleeve," Callahan said on the NHL @TheRink podcast Tuesday. "There's not too many stick slams or door slams. It's because he cares why he's doing it, but at the same time it's visible and I think other teams feed off of that, knowing he's getting frustrated. It almost seems like a more business-like approach this year from Kucherov]. I have noticed a difference in him."
***[RELATED: [Full Stanley Cup Final coverage]
Kucherov leads the NHL with 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) in 21 postseason games. His two assists in the Lightning's 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Monday set a Tampa Bay record for points in a single postseason, passing Brad Richards, who scored 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 23 games in 2004.
Callahan joined co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke on the podcast to talk about the Lightning, the Stars and the Cup Final, a best-of-7 series tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 in Edmonton, the hub city for the Cup Final, on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
Callahan's perspective on the Lightning and Kucherov is built from playing six seasons with Tampa Bay before retiring after last season.
Callahan also said the difference in the Lightning this season is their commitment to defense.
He said the perfect example came after the Stars made it 3-2 at 5:27 of the third period in Game 2. It wasn't until 11:08 later that the Lightning allowed another shot on goal. They allowed two in the final 14:33.
"Their commitment to defense is something that I don't think I've seen in the past maybe four years," Callahan said. "I think that year we went to the Final 2015] we were a pretty committed defensive team, we limited turnovers. After that I think that [lack of defensive commitment] really hurt our team in a lot of those runs we had."
Jon Taffer, the well-known host, creator and executive producer of "Bar Rescue" on Paramount Network, as well a die-hard Vegas Golden Knights fan and season-ticket holder, also joined Rosen and Roarke on the podcast.
Taffer is working with the NHL to host a 15-minute digital interview series called "Pregaming presented by New Amsterdam Vodka," which can be found on the NHL Facebook and Instagram pages.
Taffer spoke with the co-hosts about his disappointment with the Golden Knights losing in five games against the Stars in the Western Conference Final, his love of hockey and why he's such a big fan, and offered a prediction on who he thinks will win the Stanley Cup Final.
The podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
[NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
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