Kucherov Fires Away but Finds No Twine in Tampa's OT Win
The Lightning beat Seattle 4-3 in overtime while their star forward went home without a point and a minus on the sheet.
Nikita Kucherov put eight shots on net against Seattle and still finished without a point. Tampa Bay won it anyway, 4-3 in overtime.
He played 22:16 over 26 shifts, third among Lightning skaters and second among their forwards. Five of his shots came at even strength and three on the power play, where he also had no points. He finished minus-2, with one takeaway, two giveaways and one hit.
That is a departure from his season line. Through seven games he has 1 goal and 7 assists for 8 points, and he came in with 17 shots total. Eight in one night is nearly half of that.
It was a quiet night on the scoresheet, but not for lack of trying. The puck did not go in for him, and the Lightning found the winner elsewhere. They are now 5-2-0, with a perfect 4-0-0 record at home.