Tampa Bay heads to Nashville to face the Predators Saturday afternoon in the first of two meetings this year, and the match will feature two dynamic former teammates on the ice together for the first time after one broke the other’s franchise record.
The Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov posted the primary assist on Brayden Point’s power-play goal a week ago in Utah, giving the playmaking right winger Tampa Bay’s all-time points record.
That broke the mark of former Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos, who was the go-to player on the power play during two Stanley Cup championship seasons early this decade.
The chemistry between the two was uncanny.
On the club’s vaunted man advantage, Stamkos would perch above the left circle, stick elevated high and ready to fire away. Kucherov seemingly always found a way to set him up for a missile on goal.
“It was just fun hockey,” Kucherov, who since has added one more point to his career total, said of his time with “Stammer.”
Coach Jon Cooper had a great vantage point.
“You look at the list of the players that have played here — Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier, Victor Hedman, guys that have their names in the rafters — and (Kucherov) stands alone,” Cooper said.
Point had a pedestrian single-point showing in Tampa Bay’s 6-4 home win Thursday, which matched some team history.
The 6-0-0 record on their ice equaled the Lightning’s best start ever, a record they can break next Tuesday when they return from a Music City one-off to face the Detroit Red Wings.
First-year forward Pontus Holmberg crafted a career-high four points with a goal and three assists on Thursday.
“He’s an incredible player,” Brandon Hagel said. “This guy does it all. He’s a Swiss Army knife. You need him to produce, he’ll produce. Need him to shut down, he’ll shut down.”
Stamkos is doing just fine with the Predators, tied for the lead in goals (seven) with Ryan O’Reilly and points (15) with Filip Forsberg and captain Roman Josi.
However, after tying Washington 3-all on Ross Colton’s marker on Thursday, Nashville watched Alex Tuch beat goaltender Juuse Saros midway through the third period.
The 4-3 setback left the Predators 1-1-1 on their five-game homestand.
Head coach Andrew Brunette said it was just another squandered opportunity to earn a win at home, where Nashville is 3-3-2.
“I thought we lost a little bit of momentum at different times in the game,” Brunette said. “And I thought we put ourselves in really good position with 10 minutes left. Unfortunately, it was a goal that was probably preventable. I thought it was a good performance tonight; we just didn’t get anything out of it.”
Nashville also stands out in one category that oozes with regret: It owns an NHL-high five overtime or shootout losses, denying the team of five more points.
“You could say we’ve let some slip away,” added Brunette. “Obviously the overtime losses change the whole dynamic. … I don’t think there’s frustration. We’re in every hockey game. … We’ve given ourselves chances to collect points.
“It’s a one-goal league and we lost by one tonight.”