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Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov gets body language diagnosis from anonymous scout
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- Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov gets body language diagnosis from anonymous scout
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The Tampa Bay Lightning are down to their last loss in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, falling 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens at Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday to be pushed to the brink by their Atlantic Division rivals.
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The Bolts have scored just 13 goals over five games, and Nikita Kucherov , who was nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award earlier this week, has managed just one of them.
Although he led the team with eight shots on Wednesday, he failed to record a single point, and he’s now sitting at one goal and five assists in a series that has shifted back in Montreal’s favor.
It’s clear that he’s frustrated, and one anonymous NHL scout shared a three-word message to Pierre LeBrun, who is covering the series for The Athletic.
“Bad body language,” the scout said.
After leading the playoffs in scoring in both 2020 and 2021 — and helping Tampa Bay win two straight Stanley Cups titles — the Russian superstar has struggled mightily after the regular season.
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In back-to-back-to-back first round exits between 2023-25, Kucherov scored just a single goal, and not once over two matchups with the Florida Panthers, who went on to win it all both times.
That’s after he managed 23 goals over three postseasons between 2020-22. He’s scored once in this series, but the Lightning need him to be much, much better if they hope to win two straight against a hungry Canadiens club.
Kucherov has only been made available to the media once in the series, after Game 2 — although LeBrun relays that he has been requested by the media to speak multiple times.
No. 86 has won two Cups, and he continues to dominate the NHL after recording 130 points in 76 games in 2025-26 — his third straight campaign with over 120 points.
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But his postseason play has left a ton to be desired for almost four years now, and the Lightning need the opposite as they try to not only come back in this series, but make a run in the Eastern Conference.
Puck drops on a do-or-die Game 6 for Kucherov and the Lightning just past 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday night.
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