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Oct 13, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) waits for a faceoff during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Lightning's Nikita Kucherov Eyes Third-Straight Art Ross Trophy

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Samuel Len | Last updated Mar 19, 2026 9:00 AM ET

The 2025–26 NHL season has delivered exactly what hockey fans crave — speed, skill, and just enough chaos to keep every night meaningful. With the playoffs quickly approaching, the intensity has only ramped up.

The scoring title chase has turned into a familiar kind of showdown — the kind that defines eras. What began as a battle between four former first-overall picks has become a three-man race between generational talents.

For much of the early season, the Colorado Avalanche looked unstoppable, and Nathan MacKinnon appeared on track to collect hardware across the board. But since the calendar flipped to 2026, the momentum has shifted. Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov have surged, each playing at a level that feels almost untouchable, overtaking MacKinnon and reshaping the Art Ross race entirely.

Kucherov’s Historic 2026 Surge

If McDavid has been brilliant, Kucherov has somehow found another level.

He entered 2026 trailing the leaders, sitting tied for fifth in scoring with Martin Necas at 51 points, while McDavid and MacKinnon were locked at 70. What followed has been one of the most explosive stretches in recent NHL memory.

Kucherov opened the year like a man powered by literal lightning. In his first 10 games of 2026, he piled up 23 points — 7 goals and 16 assists — marking the highest total in a 10-game span to start a calendar year since Mario Lemieux posted 26 in 1997 and 23 the year before in 1996.

February started with fireworks and goalies throwing fists, as sports fans witnessed one of the greatest outdoor games in NHL history between the Boston Bruins and Lightning. Kucherov posted back-to-back four-point performances, starting with a clutch performance against Boston in the Stadium Series, where he scored the game-tying goal in one of the most dramatic comebacks of the season. Days later, he was in the middle of everything again, factoring into all four Tampa Bay goals in a 4–3 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres got their revenge at the end of the month by snapping his 12-game point streak with a 6–2 win, leaving him one shy of tying his career-best 13-game run from 2024.

Most recently, Kucherov delivered a statement performance in Seattle — a five-point night capped by the seventh hat trick of his career in a 6–2 win over the Kraken.

The boys talk about the greatness of Kucherov following a 5 point game pic.twitter.com/DHIDtbbkwg
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) March 18, 2026

To put it in perspective, Kucherov has recorded 93 points over his last 45 games. No player has reached that mark over a 45-game span since Lemieux during the 1995–96 season.

A Tight Race for the 2025-26 Art Ross Trophy

That surge has pushed Kucherov firmly into the heart of the scoring race.

He now sits second in the NHL with 111 points, tied with MacKinnon and four behind McDavid. On the surface, it looks like a razor-thin margin, but context matters.

McDavid has played seven more games than Kucherov, while the Edmonton Oilers have fewer games remaining than the Tampa Bay Lightning. MacKinnon, meanwhile, has also played four more games.

It’s a quiet detail, but one that could ultimately decide the race — and perhaps even the Hart Trophy conversation. Points are one thing. Points relative to opportunity are another.

Highest pts/game in a season, cap era:

1.88 — Connor McDavid | 2021
1.87 — Connor McDavid | 2023
1.79 — Nikita Kucherov | this season
1.78 — Nikita Kucherov | 2024

It's McDavid and Kucherov this era. pic.twitter.com/QOxaGbKKsB
— Big Head Hockey (@bigheadhcky) March 18, 2026

Kucherov Chasing Historic Third Straight Art Ross

Kucherov isn’t just chasing another scoring title. He’s chasing history. The Lightning star is the defending back-to-back Art Ross Trophy winner, posting 144 points in 2023–24 and 121 in 2024–25. Before that, he claimed the award in 2018–19 with 128 points.

A third straight win would put him in rare company. Even Mario Lemieux, one of the greatest offensive players in NHL history, never won three consecutive Art Ross Trophies. His six wins came in pairs — 1988 and 1989, 1992 and 1993, 1996 and 1997.

Kucherov, however, has a chance to do something Lemieux never did.

If he gets there, he would become just the seventh player in NHL history to win three straight scoring titles, joining Wayne Gretzky (10), Gordie Howe (6), Phil Esposito (5), Guy Lafleur (3), Jaromir Jagr (5), and Connor McDavid (5), who most recently accomplished the feat from 2021 to 2023.

He would also become just theeighth player ever to win at least four Art Ross Trophies, joining Gretzky (10), Howe (6), Mario Lemieux (6), Esposito (5), Jagr (5), McDavid (5), and Stan Mikita (4), a group that represents some of the greatest offensive seasons in NHL history.

For Kucherov, though, the numbers have never been the point.

Teammates and coaches have long described Nikita Kucherov as singularly focused, a player driven less by awards and more by the ultimate goal. The Stanley Cup remains the only prize that truly matters in his world.

Still, moments like this deserve recognition — even if they aren’t what drive him — because we’re watching an all-time great quietly build a legacy that will stand among the very best in NHL history.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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