Segment 5: Plus, has the USA replaced Canada as the best country at international tournaments? And what's the reaction to the PWHL's jailbreak idea? Nikita Kucherov [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNTU2MDQ3NTE1MTY2MDQ0/usatsi_21967082.jpg] Nikita Kucherov With NHL All-Star Weekend just around the corner, we're edging closer to the halfway point of the 2023-24 season. This is a great time to take a look at the stats pages and see which players are succeeding like never before. Whether it's a young guy hitting his stride, a veteran reaching a new level, or a star finding a way to take his game up another notch, these are moments worth celebrating. I'll put the spotlight on the Western Conference in a future article. For now, here are two forwards, a defenseman and a goalie who are lighting up the East. NIKITA KUCHEROV, RW, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING It's not especially surprising to see Nikita Kucherov hanging out at the top of the scoring race. After all, the 30-year-old won the Art Ross Trophy in 2019 with 128 points — at the time, the highest total since 1995-96. Last season, Leon Draisaitl also hit 128, while Connor McDavid set a new modern standard with 153 points. With 28 goals, 39 assists and 67 points in 41 games this season, Kucherov is on pace for 55 goals and 77 assists for 132 points in 81 games (he missed one game due to illness this season, back in November). If he can maintain his current pace, he'd crush his previous scoring high of 41 goals, from that 2018-19 season, as well as bettering his total points by four. And he'd do it while playing on a Lightning team that has seen its roster weakened considerably since that record-setting regular season five years ago. Say what you will about the cap gymnastics that the Lightning employed when Kucherov missed the entire 2020-21 regular season following hip surgery and another 32 games in 2021-22. The fact that he has come back from those health issues makes it even more impressive that he's on his way to the best season of his career. Sam Reinhart [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNTU2MTIwMjYwNzgxNDA0/usatsi_21776464_168400847_lowres.jpg] Sam Reinhart SAM REINHART, RW/C, FLORIDA PANTHERS During the tight-cap summer of 2021, the Buffalo Sabres didn't want to pay market value to lock up their soon-to-be UFA center Sam Reinhart. On July 24, he was traded to the Florida Panthers for two nice pieces: goaltender Devon Levi and the 2022 first-round pick that was used to select promising Czech forward Jiri Kulich. The deal worked out well for both sides. Reinhart signed a three-year contract at a reasonable cap hit of $6.5 million. Then, he went out and scored a career-high 33 goals in 2021-22 and followed up with 31 last season. Now set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer at age 28, Reinhart has taken his game to yet another level. In 40 games, he's up to 29 goals and 51 points, including 11 goals in the Panthers' last eight games. Those were all wins, and Reinhart potted the game-winner four times. Talk about clutch: he leads the league with eight winners for the year. If Reinhart can maintain his current torrid pace, he'll finish with 104 points, including 59 goals, which would tie him with Pavel Bure for the Panthers' single-season goals record. But it won't be easy. Reinhart has scored on a league-leading 27.4 percent of his shots this season among players with at least 15 goals. Noah Dobson [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNTU2MTQwMTI1MDA1MTQ4/usatsi_22203587_168400847_lowres.jpg] Noah Dobson NOAH DOBSON, D, NEW YORK ISLANDERS He closed out his junior career by winning the Memorial Cup with two different teams in back-to-back years. Now, the 24-year-old from Summerside, PEI, is making a name for himself as a top-tier NHL defenseman with the New York Islanders. A valuable right-hand shot who was drafted 12th overall in 2018, Noah Dobson made his NHL debut a year later and systematically grew his game. A tremendous skater who's solid at both ends of the ice, he looked like he'd plateaued at a very respectable 13 goals and about 50 points per campaign over the last two seasons. This year, he has taken another giant step forward. Through Wednesday's games, Dobson is averaging 25:51 of ice time on the Islanders' blueline. That's an increase of more than five minutes from last season and leaves him second overall in the league, just 11 seconds behind leader Drew Doughty (26:02). Dobson has used those extra minutes to become a more effective playmaker. Through 40 games, his six goals put him on pace for 12 for the year — just one shy of the last two seasons. But he's already up to 32 helpers for the year. That's only six short of his previous career high of 38, so he's on pace for 65 assists for the year — which works out to 77 total points. If Dobson can hit those assist and point totals, he'll be behind only Denis Potvin among defensemen in Islanders franchise history [https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?aggregate=0&reportType=season&seasonFrom=19701971&seasonTo=20232024&gameType=2&position=D&playerPlayedFor=franchise.22&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points&page=0&pageSize=50]. Potvin broke 80 points five times in his career but eclipsed 65 assists just twice, peaking at 70 in the 1978-79 season. Charlie Lindgren [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNTU2MTY2OTY4NTUwNzQ4/usatsi_21998957_168400847_lowres.jpg] Charlie Lindgren CHARLIE LINDGREN, G, WASHINGTON CAPITALS In a season where many goaltenders are performing below expectations, Charlie Lindgren is the Eastern Conference keeper who has done the most to rewrite the narrative around his career in a positive way. And what a long road it has been for the undrafted 30-year-old, who was an AHL regular as recently as the 2021-22 season. He had just 29 games of NHL experience on his resume over six seasons when the Washington Capitals signed him to a three-year deal at a cap hit of $1.1 million to back up Darcy Kuemper. Last season, he got into 31 games, putting up a record of 13-11-3 to go along with an .899 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average. This year, he is currently on track for about the same amount of work, with minutes in 15 of Washington's 38 games to date. But he's thriving under new coach Spencer Carbery, with a record of 7-3-3. Lindgren's .928 save percentage also ranks second only to Adin Hill among goalies with at least 13 games played, and his 2.27 goals-against-average sits fourth overall. Both numbers are the best in the Eastern Conference. Lindgren was basically splitting duties with Kuemper before he suffered an injury that kept him out for Washington's last five games. Now, he's healthy again. And with every point so crucial in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race, don't be surprised to see him supplant Kuemper (10-9-2, .893 save percentage) if he can pick up where he left off. THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTg5MzM3NTA5NzY2MjUy/my-thn-ad-banner-1500x150.jpg] THN.com/free
