Before Nikita Kucherov scored against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, his most recent playoff goal was scored against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 18, 2023, over three years ago. Kucherov's goal against Toronto came in Game 1 of their series, and Game 2 began a 16-game drought for the Lightning's superstar winger. The Lightning went on to lose that first-round series, then were eliminated in the first round in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons as well. Unsurprisingly, the seasons in which Kucherov has scored the most goals have also been the seasons that the Lightning have seen the most playoff success. He scored seven goals during the 2020 playoffs when the Lightning won their first Stanley Cup since 2004. The following spring, he scored eight as the Lightning lifted the Stanley Cup for the second straight year. During the 2021-22 season, Kucherov's eight goals helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season. Of course, there have been a lot of factors leading to the Lightning's postseason struggles over the last three seasons, such as the departure of Steven Stamkos, for example, but the Lightning will certainly have a sigh of relief seeing Kucherov find the back of the net again.
