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Nikita Kucherov awarded first star of the week

The NHL has awarded our February Thunder of the Month, Nikita Kucherov, first star of the week. Kucherov has nearly singlehandedly kept the Bolts' playoff hopes alive in the past month, setting personal scoring records along the way.

In the past three games alone, Kucherov has earned 5 goals and 2 assists (7 points), and on March 23rd, completed the third hat-trick of his career. He is currently second to Sidney Crosby in goals scored. Kucherov also leads the entire league in power-play goals.

Here are our words praising him in February: “With Steven Stamkos out of the lineup since November, Kucherov has been shouldering the burden of putting points on the board every night as the team hasn’t lived up to what anyone was expecting of them this season.