Feb 25, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (86) handles the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Nikita Kucherov's Latest Milestone Cements Lightning Legacy

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Deepanjan Mitra | Last updated Feb 26, 2026 12:30 PM ET

Nikita Kucherov keeps adding chapters to his Tampa Bay Lightning legacy. The forward notched his 700th career assist against Toronto on February 25, setting up Gage Goncalves for a second-period goal that helped fuel a 4-2 victory over the Maple Leafs.

The milestone places Kucherov alongside Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin as the only Russian-born players to reach the mark and the first in franchise history for the Lightning.. At 32 years old, the two-time Stanley Cup champion continues climbing the all-time leaderboards while playing the best hockey of his decorated career.

7️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ apples!

Congratulations to Nikita Kucherov, who becomes the first player in @TBLightning franchise history to reach the mark! pic.twitter.com/q6gGPhP08i
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) February 26, 2026

Kucherov also found the back of the net in the third period to reach 30 goals in a season for the ninth time as a professional. With that, he also crossed Nathan MacKinnon on the points leaderboard with 94 points (30 goals, 64 assists), now lagging by just two points behind Connor McDavid's 96 points.

Hottest Player in Hockey

Nobody has produced at Kucherov's level since the calendar flipped to 2026. The winger has accumulated 40 points during that stretch while extending his current point streak to 11 games, the longest active run in the league.

His 1.80 points-per-game average leads all NHL skaters this season. Kucherov has tallied at least one point in all but a handful of contests, providing consistent offense that has propelled Tampa Bay into legitimate Stanley Cup contender status.

The Lightning have won 20 of their last 22 games with Kucherov orchestrating the attack. His elite vision and patience with the puck create scoring opportunities that few other players can manufacture.

Franchise Cornerstone

Tampa Bay selected Kucherov with the 58th overall pick in 2011. The second-round selection has blossomed into one of the most prolific scorers of his generation, capturing the Hart Trophy in 2019 and winning two Art Ross Trophies as the league's leading scorer.

His partnership with Brayden Point has anchored the Lightning offense for nearly a decade. Point returned from an 11-game injury absence against Toronto and scored twice, demonstrating the chemistry that has powered multiple deep playoff runs.

Andrei Vasilevskiy backstopped the victory with 32 saves, improving to 17-0-1 over his last 18 appearances. The Lightning improved to 38-14-4 with 80 points, holding first place in the Atlantic Division by six points over Montreal.

Cooper Absent From Bench

The victory came without head coach Jon Cooper, who missed the game following the death of his father Robert earlier this week. Cooper will also miss the contest at Carolina on February 26 before returning to the bench.

Tampa Bay visits the Hurricanes as they continue pushing for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 26 games remaining.

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

More must-reads: