PHILADELPHIA (AP) Nikita Kucherov had three goals and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on Tuesday night.
Kucherov scored on a one-timer from the right circle late in the first period. He added a nearly identical goal on a power play 2:24 into the second. He also had an empty-netter in the final minute of the game.
āHeās a pleasure to watch every night and heās definitely worth the price of admission,ā Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. āHeās a fabulous player. Unique. Elite. I donāt know what else to say about him because Iām running out of words.ā
Kucherov moved into the NHL lead with 80 points, continuing his battle with Coloradoās Nathan MacKinnon for the top spot.
With 30 goals already, Kucherov is on pace to eclipse his career best of 41 set in 2018-19. Cooper said itās because heās shooting more than ever before. He is averaging a career-best 4.2 shots per game.
āWhen he shoots the puck it has eyes,ā Cooper said. āThe fact that heās shooting more has really helped his game.ā
Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel each had a goal and an assist as Tampa Bay won for the sixth time in seven games. Michael Eyssimont also scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 stops. Maxwell Crozier earned his first NHL point with an assist on Pointās goal.
āLeadership has taken a big role in production here and the rest of us are just following their lead,ā Eyssimont said. āWhen you have leadership like that, it makes our jobs a lot easier. (Kucherov) is incredible. Heās so much fun to watch. A lot of us are a lot better as players because of him.ā
Jaime Drysdale and Cam York scored for Philadelphia, which has dropped three in a row. Cam Atkinson had a goal and an assist.
It was Drysdaleās first goal since he was acquired in a Jan. 8 trade with Anaheim for one of the Flyersā top prospects, Cutter Gauthier.
Philadelphia coach John Tortorella felt the difference in the game was giving the Lightning too many chances on the power play. Tampa Bay was 2 for 3 with the man advantage.
āTheyāre not as deep as they used to be and they rely a lot on their power play,ā Tortorella said. āWe took two stupid penalties. ... They make you pay. It doesnāt take them much to score on the power play and that hurt us today.ā
Samuel Ersson made 15 saves in his second consecutive start for Philadelphia. He likely will serve as the Flyersā No. 1 goaltender for the foreseeable future after Carter Hart took an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons.
āSamās played very well, Iām totally confident in Sam,ā Tortorella said.
Drysdaleās power-play goal trimmed Tampa Bayās lead to 3-2 with 5:56 left in the second. But Kucherov fed Eyssimont in the slot with a slick pass for a power-play goal with 2:18 remaining in the period.
UP NEXT
Lightning: Hosts Arizona on Thursday.
Flyers: Travel to Detroit on Thursday.
---
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.