Nikita Kucherov Dominates Against the Preds: His Trade Request Doesn’t Affect His Play

Félix Forget
Nikita Kucherov Dominates Against the Preds: His Trade Request Doesn’t Affect His Play
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

This afternoon, the Tampa Bay Lightning faced off against the Nashville Predators. And amid everything that's been happening since last night with Nikita Kucherov, we were watching this game closely.

We were wondering how the Russian, who continues to play for his team, would perform.

And in the end, Kucherov was… Kucherov. The Russian winger, true to form, had a fairly productive day on the ice, logging the second-most ice time among his teammates (23:41), behind Jake Guentzel (25:56). Jon Cooper had said before the game that nothing was going to change… and that's exactly what happened.

In fact, Kucherov finished the game with three assists, all on his team's first three goals.

The assist on Victor Hedman's goal—that's classic Kuch.

It's also worth noting that before the game, we were treated to a rather amusing moment on the ice between Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. The two found themselves standing side by side for the opening faceoff… and they started laughing.

It's up to you to figure out what was said here.

It's worth noting that, in the end, it took a shootout to decide the game. The Preds ultimately won thanks to the game-winning goal by… Steven Stamkos.

You can't make this stuff up.

We'll see if Kucherov continues to play at a high level over the next few days. For now, it seems he's approaching the situation with a certain level of professionalism.

It remains to be seen whether that would change if the case were to drag on.


In a Nutshell

– CF Montréal played to a draw.

– Note this.

– Hehe.

– Things are going (very) well for Justin Barron.

– Interesting.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!