The race for the Art Ross Trophy is more exciting than it has been in years. Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov leads Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon by three points (94 to 91) with the stretch run of the NHL season underway. (Five-time scoring champion Connor McDavid is also lurking, trailing Kucherov by 11 points.)

Kucherov and MacKinnon have either shared the league scoring lead or held it outright every day since Nov. 24.

MacKinnon is unquestionably one of the greatest players of his era, but he has never won a scoring title. He leads the league with 932 offence-generating plays (16.6 per game), which include, among other things, passes and carries to the slot, as well as shots on net from that section of the ice.

Most impressively, MacKinnon does it all at blazing speed. His 193 end-to-end rushes (3.45 per game) are also the most in the league.

“When he’s coming at you a billion miles an hour and you see the ‘D’ backing up and panicking a little bit, it’s not a fun feeling for anybody,” Los Angeles Kings goaltender Cam Talbot told the Denver Post. “I can’t even imagine what the D-men are thinking, coming back and trying to accept that much speed.”

Kucherov, who is closing in on his fourth career 100-point season, is a prolific set-up man, leading all skaters with 242 completed slot passes (4.32 per game). His one-timer, which has led to 16 of his 36 goals this season, is perhaps the deadliest in the sport. Only Auston Matthews (18) has scored more off the one-timer.

“I don’t have the speed,” Kucherov told The Athletic. “I don’t have a crazy shot. I don’t have shiftiness like crazy. … I (have) to use my brain.”

There has been little to no drama in the Art Ross race since McDavid arrived on the scene. McDavid is trying to become the fifth player in NHL history to win the award after trailing the league leader by 20-plus points at any time during the season. (Daniel Sedin, who was behind by as many as 20 points in 2010-11, was the last to do so.)

Most likely, though, Kucherov or MacKinnon will take home the trophy. Grab your popcorn.

“He’s going to be a tough guy to beat, that’s for sure,” MacKinnon said of Kucherov at the NHL All-Star Game. “He’s one of the smartest players, if not the smartest in the league. I definitely admire his game a lot. I think he’s very different from my game, and I can take a lot from it — the way he can slow things down. He’s got no pulse. It’s like he knows what the right play is every time.”

All stats via Sportlogiq

Nathan MacKinnon or Nikita Kucherov? Analyzing two favourites for the Art Ross

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