Lightning's Nikita Kucherov: Lights lamp early in loss

Kucherov scored a goal on three shots in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Avalanche.

Kucherov scored just 1:37 into the game, but the Avalanche rattled off the next three goals. The tally was enough to shake off a two-game skid for Kucherov, who had six shots on net and a plus-1 rating in that span. The 32-year-old winger is up to five goals, 11 points, 32 shots on net and a minus-4 rating across 11 appearances this season. A point-per-game pace is nothing to sneeze at, but Kucherov has more offense to give.