Nikita Kucherov continues to dominate offensively for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season and is building a strong case for the Hart Trophy with elite advanced metrics.
Kucherov has won back-to-back Art Ross trophies and is contending for another (114 points in 63 games; second behind Connor McDavid’s 115 in 70 games) despite Tampa Bay dealing with injuries to key players this season. Kucherov, who won the Hart Trophy in 2019, has been a finalist for the award in each of the past two seasons and leads the entire NHL in points (379 in 222 games) over the past three seasons combined (since start of 2023-24).
The 32-year-old, who has missed four games this season, has been on a scoring surge in recent months. Since Nov. 22, 2025, Kucherov leads the NHL with 95 points (29 goals, 66 assists) in 45 games, the most by any NHL player in a 45-game span during a single season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. Kucherov was as many as 22 points back of the NHL’s scoring lead earlier this season (prior to games Dec. 27).
Kucherov leads the NHL in four-point games (eight), four-assist games (three) and multiassist games (23), while he is tied with McDavid for the most multipoint games (37 each) and tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the most three-point games (17 each). Kucherov is also leading the NHL in points per game (1.81) this season.
