The end of the 2017-18 regular season is upon us, with just one more full slate of NHL action on Saturday and a lone Bruins-Panthers tilt on Sunday. Eight clubs took the ice Friday to pad their stats, make a bit of history, and try to iron out some playoff matchup details.
That said, here are a few things we learned around the league on the third-last day of the season:
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Kucherov, Gourde cementing their place in Lightning history
It’s been a banner year for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and 24-year-old Russian phenom Nikita Kucherov has been at the centre of the dominant campaign from day one. But Friday night against the Sabres, Kucherov solidified his place among the best Bolts to ever pull on the jersey, potting a goal and an assist to take his season total to an even 100 points.
Though that likely won’t be enough to catch Connor McDavid for the Art Ross Trophy — the Oilers captain sits at 106 points with one more game to play — Kucherov’s 2017-18 total ranks third in Lightning history.
Only two Lightning players have ever reached the 100-point plateau, and the names of those all-timers won’t surprise anyone who’s taken a brief glance at the franchise record books.
Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis are the pair in question, the duo having both reached the century mark in 2006-07—Lecavalier posted 108 on the year while St. Louis got to 102. Just 24 years old, Kucherov now resides in that company, accomplishing something even former No. 1 pick Steven Stamkos hasn’t done—the captain has three 90-plus seasons on his résumé, but hasn’t yet made it all the way to the top of that mountain.
With one more game to play—Saturday against Carolina—Kucherov could in fact move up higher on the Lightning’s all-time single-season scoring list. He has 31 multi-point games in the bag this season. One more and he moves past St. Louis on the above list.
League-wide, Kucherov’s 100-point feat is no less impressive. Firstly, he also becomes just the sixth Russian player to ever reach that high at the NHL level.
Secondly, him joining McDavid in the triple digits makes 2017-18 the first season since 2009-10 to see multiple players reach 100 points. That season, it was Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Henrik Sedin and Nicklas Backstrom doing so.
The 100-point club could get a bit bigger before all is said and done too, as revived Flyers star Claude Giroux (99 points) sits on the cusp of cracking triple digits with another game to play.
While it’s not quite a century mark nor a place among two of the finest scorers the team has ever seen, rookie Yanni Gourde managed to make a bit of history himself on Friday. The 26-year-old piled up a goal and two assists in Tampa Bay’s 7-5 rollercoaster against Buffalo, and in doing so, ensured he’d finish 2017-18 with the most goals (23) and points (64) ever amassed by a Lightning rookie. The previous best? Brad Richards’ 21 goals and 62 points back in 2000-01.
Mittelstadt, Nylander offering Sabres fans a glimpse of the future
Though the Sabres suffered through another dismal season in 2017-18, punctuated by their shellacking by the Lightning on Friday, a few of the club’s young guns proved there may be hope yet for the franchise’s future.
As Gourde made his own rookie history for the Bolts, young Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander did so for Buffalo, each forward scoring his first NHL goal in the wild tilt.
The pair of firsts came just minutes apart during the game’s early goings, as the Sabres briefly kept pace and went goal-for-goal with the Lightning’s high-powered offence.
Hopes are high for both of the youngsters, with the Sabres in desperate need of some more dynamic skill to complement Jack Eichel‘s offensive acumen. It’s just a very, very small start, but 19-year-old Mittelstadt and 20-year-old Nylander have Sabres fans thinking they have something genuine, something promising in the two scorers.
Mittelstadt’s total now moves to four points through five games in his late-season showing while Nylander’s goal comes in his second game since being called up to the big club.
Crosby doing his best Kessel impression in Pittsburgh
For the very first time in his career, Sidney Crosby played a full 82 games, reaching the season-ending mark with the Penguins’ 4-1 win over the Senators on Friday.
While it’s remarkable the former Kid has never hit Game 82 in 13 years as an NHLer, it’s less of a game changer when you consider he’s been above the 79-game mark five times, and above 77 on eight occasions.
More impressive? Also playing Game 82 was star winger Phil Kessel, who continues to be among the most durable players in the game. With another 82 in the bag, the former Leaf and Bruin has now appeared in every one of a season’s games on nine different occasions during his 12-year career, including the past eight straight seasons.
With a goal and an assist on Friday, his second straight multi-point game, Kessel lifted his season total to 92 points, the highest of his career, as he continues his personal-best campaign.
Kessel ranks as the only Penguin to top 90 points in Pittsburgh aside from Crosby and Malkin since the two centremen began their era of Penguins history in the mid-2000s.
Berglund revival helping Blues remain in the hunt
With a 4-1 win over Chicago on Friday, the Blues kept their playoff hopes alive, positioning themselves in the final Western Conference wild card spot with Colorado just one point back ahead of the two teams’ crucial meeting on Saturday.
Veteran Patrik Berglund potted three of St. Louis’ goals against the Blackhawks, posting his best effort of the season when it mattered most. That’s been a consistent trend for the 29-year-old as of late.
Since sitting out as a healthy scratch on Feb. 28, Berglund has put up nine goals and 11 points in 16 games. Certainly not award-winning numbers, but notable when you consider that he had fewer goals (eight) and just a few more points (14) in the 40 games before that healthy scratch assignment.
And it’s even more notable when compared to the rest of the Blues scorers—since March 1, Berglund’s nine goals rank as the most of any of his teammates, sitting two above star winger Vladimir Tarasenko.
The Blues still have their work cut out for them if they hope to make it to the post-season—they have to take down Colorado on Saturday to hold on to their spot—but the club looks to have a chance with their depth starting to come into play.
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