Who's Hot And Cold In The NHL: Kucherov And Hellebuyck's Streaks Are Mind-Boggling

When NHL superstars get hot, they're posting nearly unthinkable stats.

That's what happened this past week with Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov.

What the new Art Ross Trophy leader has accomplished since the Christmas break is nothing short of outstanding, and he has been even hotter than usual since last Monday.

Even star defenseman Zach Werenski had an especially hot week for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they climbed into a playoff spot. 

Speaking of unthinkable stats, Connor Hellebuyck's last three games for the Winnipeg Jets require a double-take.

Here's who's hot and cold in the NHL since last Monday, March 16.

Kucherov recorded a stunning six goals and 13 points in only four games.

The next-best scorer in that span, Filip Forsberg, had only nine points.

What made his scoring more impressive is that through three games, he had 12 points, averaging four per game.

We could've put Kucherov on the 'hot' list nearly all season long, especially since Dec. 23, when he was 22 points behind the league's scoring lead. He's had 74 points in 33 games since then.

Now, Kucherov leads the Art Ross Trophy race with 118 points in 64 games, and he's on pace for 94 assists and 142 points – numbers that would be extremely close to his career-high 100 assists and 144 points. 

If Kucherov maintains a narrow lead over Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid (116 points) and Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon (114 points), Kucherov would win the Art Ross for the third straight season and fourth in his career.

The 32-year-old Russian should also be in the mix to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most-valuable regular-season player for the second time. If he's not a lock to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after his playing career, we'd be shocked.

The Golden Knights lost three of four games last week, getting shut out twice.

Star center Jack Eichel was particularly ineffective, with zero points despite taking 10 shots on net.

Eichel also posted a minus-six rating. Only San Jose Sharks left winger William Eklund (minus-seven) and Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour (minus-eight) had a worse plus/minus rating, but they at least had one assist each.

Eichel leads Vegas in scoring, with 74 points in 62 games. But his five-game scoring drought is his longest of the season.

He will still get to the 75-point mark for the fourth time in his 11 NHL seasons. But considering he had 94 points in 77 games last season, this year is a bit of a step back for the center.

As the Golden Knights fall further behind the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division, don't expect Eichel to have another cold week this season.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Eichel is a point-per-game player, with 43 points in 40 career post-season games.

When Werenski had seven points in three games in late December, the Blue Jackets were last in the Metropolitan Division.

Now, they're third in the division, and Werenski is a huge part of that success.

The star was on another hot streak this past week with a league-high seven assists in three games before being held off the scoresheet on Sunday.

Werenski also posted a plus-7 rating, which only Kucherov and Brandon Hagel beat. 

The 28-year-old now has 55 assists and 75 points in 63 games this year, and he'll almost certainly break his career-best totals of 59 assists and 82 points.

Werenski is among the favorites to win the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman.

When the back-to-back Vezina Trophy winner, reigning Hart Trophy winner, Olympic gold medallist and possible future recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom loses three straight with ugly stats, the hockey world should take notice.

Hellebuyck went 0-1-2 last week with an .841 save percentage and 4.15 goals-against average.

And it wasn't like he had one or two rough games and was back to normal in another. He allowed three goals on 23 shots in a shootout loss to Nashville for an .870 SP, six goals on 27 shots against Boston for a .778 SP and four goals on 32 shots in another shootout loss to Pittsburgh for an .875 SP.

The Jets broke their three-game winless streak on Sunday when backup Eric Comrie stopped 27 of 29 shots against the New York Rangers and won the shootout. 

Hellebuyck's stats this season now include a 2.85 GAA and .897 SP – totals that are rather unlike him.

Winnipeg's winless skid likely sealed an end to its playoff hopes, and going on a deep post-season run is the one thing missing from Hellebuyck's resume.

He was brilliant at the Olympics, leading Team USA to a gold medal. But the NHL playoffs are an entirely different animal. In his past three playoffs, Hellebuyck has never put in a better SP than .886, and he's never posted a better GAA than 3.08.

That has to change, but Hellebuyck won't get the opportunity to do it this season.

The Bolts' first line should really all be mentioned here, since it features Kucherov, Hagel and Anthony Cirelli.

While all three of them didn't record a point against Calgary on Sunday, Hagel and Cirelli had eight points each in three games before that.

Hagel not only had six assists, which are tied for the second-most in the NHL this past week, but he was also tied for first in plus-minus at plus 10.

Hagel now has 32 goals and 67 points in 64 games this season. His assist total is down from 55 last season to 35 this year, and barring a miracle, he won't reach his career-high 90 points this season. But he'll very likely beat his current career-high total of 35 goals.

The 27-year-old is just entering his prime, and his success is a major reason why the Lightning are one of the favorites to be the best team in the Eastern Conference this year.

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