Kucherov Tops Tampa Bay’s Ice Time in Home Game
He set up the empty-netter and logged team-high minutes as the Lightning fell to Washington
Nikita Kucherov led Tampa Bay’s skaters in ice time and in the forwards group, skating 22:19 over 19 shifts in a 3-1 loss to Washington. He didn’t score at even strength but recorded the empty-net assist for his lone point; his strength breakdown shows 0 even-strength points and 1 empty-net assist. Kucherov finished with 3 shots on goal, 2 giveaways and a plus-minus of +1. By position and team ranks he was the top forward for minutes (team-high among 18 skaters, first among 11 forwards), and his special-teams work included 2 power-play shot attempts but no power-play points.
It was a reasonably active night in terms of deployment and chances — he led the club in ice time and supplied the assist that closed out the scoring — but the box score shows only the single point and a quiet even-strength night.