TAMPA, Fla. _ It's finally official. Nikita Kucherov has been on a quest for more than three months, and he's finally found his destination.
Kucherov clinched the Art Ross Trophy, given to the league's scoring champion, after finishing off the regular season with 128 points, the NHL announced Sunday morning. He has been leading the league in points since Dec. 28.
With the Art Ross, Kucherov becomes the second player in franchise history to win the honor. The first was Martin St. Louis, who notched the trophy twice (in 2003-04 with 94 points and in 2012-13 with 60).
The All-Star winger is the second player in NHL history to match his club's points total. The Lightning won the Presidents' Trophy with 128 points.
Kucherov is the also now the highest-scoring Russian-born player in the NHL. Following Saturday's 6-3 win at Boston, he notched one goal and one assist, putting him in front of Alexander Mogilny's 127 points in 1992-93.
Kucherov's 87 assists are the most since Joe Thornton's 92 in 2006-07. He notched career-highs for goals (41) as well, joining Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos in the 40-goal club this season.
Kucherov brings out the fan in Jon Cooper, watching the plays he makes. Sometimes even the coaches wonder what he's doing and then see that Kucherov was two steps ahead of everyone else on the ice.
"You can't really put into words the kind of season he's had," Ryan McDonagh said. "It's been incredible to be a part of."
The Russian has a way of leaving his teammates wondering how. McDonagh admired Kucherov's goal on Saturday. He split two defensemen and scored with "an incredible finish," but making it look easy.
"He's such a smart player, a gifted player," McDonagh said. "He just wants to be an impact player every night and he's been so consistent for us."
