Nikita Kucherov is one of the best hockey players in the world. He’s a perennial 100-point player who has only gotten better with age in the regular season.
The playoffs, though, have been a different story.
Kucherov, who was held without a goal in the Tampa Bay Lightning's series with the Florida Panthers, has now gone 15 postseason games without scoring.
That’s shocking to see from a player who has been a consistent model of success in the NHL.
“The plan was to be physical on Kucherov all series long,” Panthers’ forward Evan Rodrigues said after Game 5. “And that’s exactly what we did. It worked.”
Kucherov has been so good for so long, to see him struggle is truly shocking.
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“You’re talking about an outlier,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Kucherov in the past. “His pass selection and his shot selection are different than anyone else. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the game like that.”
All of that may be true, but it looks like Florida has found a creative way to slow the star forward down.
“It’s definitely a team effort,” Rodrigues said. “In the playoffs you get extra stingy. You finish more checks, you’re more hyper focused on the defensive side. During the regular season things can get a little loose. It’s hard to play 82 games at a 100% elite pace.
“When the playoffs hit, you focus on guys like that. He’s going to get his looks, he’s going to get his chances, you can’t necessarily stop a guy like that. But I think we’ve done a really good job as a team of just containing him and trying to keep him to the outside, not letting him feel comfortable. He’s a guy you obviously pay extra attention to.”