Record Breakers and History Makers: Lightning Rout Hurricanes 8-2 Behind Kucherov’s Big Night

By Michael Wax

Andrei Vasilevskiy made his big return after a lengthy absence and Nikita Kucherov (and the Lightning) made history in Tampa Bay's 8-2 win over Carolina. Here's how they stacked up:

Hagel-Point-Kucherov

Stamkos-Cirelli-Eyssimont

Jeannot-Paul-Motte

Watson-Glendenning-Koepke

Hedman-Perbix

Sergachev-Cernak

de Hann-Raddysh

Vasilevskiy

Here are the three biggest takeaways:

That One Wayne Gretzky Saying

With the Hurricanes having such a stifling defense, the Lightning knew coming into this game that they might not get a lot of shots on that compared to previous games, but they had to make the most of them count. After all, the Lightning only put up 23 shots two weeks ago when these teams met on Nov. 11. They probably didn't expect that they would only put 14 shots on net. Luckily for them, they made those shots count exponentially. The Lightning's eight goals in 14 shots saw them shoot at a ridiculous 57.1% against Carolina, the most significant shooting percentage in NHL history. The Lightning struggled to get opportunities last game against the Hurricanes, and this game was the same. The only difference between the two was that the Lightning capitalized more than half their shots, something so ridiculous that you have to triple-check it to believe it.

Best in the World

Kucherov is once again solidifying himself as one of the best players in the world and is vying for that top spot over the past ten games. In his last ten games, Kucherov has nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points, far and away the best production of any player in the NHL. This incredible stretch was encapsulated by a two-goal, six-point night that tied the franchise record for points in a single game, done once before by defenseman Doug Crossman against the New York Islanders in the Lightning's inaugural season. Kucherov's game score, according to HockeyStatCards, was 7.3 on Friday, the highest margin of any player so far this season. It was the exclamation point on what has been a terrific start of the season so far for Kucherov, who is exceeding his own lofty expectations.

Return of the King

After missing the first 20 games of the season while recovering from back disc herniation surgery, Andrei Vasilevskiy triumphed in his return to the net in the first game of the three-game road trip. While the Lightning have certainly been held afloat by the goaltending efforts of Jonas Johansson, it certainly helps to have the best goaltender in the world back in the crease in the future. Vasilevskiy was in prime form, stopping 22/24 Hurricane shots and really keeping the Lightning in the game while shots were 9-1 Hurricanes in the opening period.

“Yes, I thought we did really well in the first," said Vasilevskiy. "We didn’t give up much scoring chances at all but, as I said, I thought it was a perfect game one and a great job by our team. It couldn’t be more perfect”

Want to start your journalism career by writing about the Tampa Bay Lightning? Send us a message via our contact form located in the upper right-hand corner under the more tab, or send us a message via Twitter to get started.