It took Nikita Kucherov — the leading goal-scorer in these Stanley Cup playoffs — five games to find the back of the net in this Eastern Conference final, but once he did, he made it count.
Kucherov scored a pair of tying goals in Game 5 of the Lightning’s 4-3 win Sunday night, the second of which came with 3:16 left and forced overtime. He also notched an assist on Tyler Johnson’s overtime winner.
“He’s very tough to play against,” Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. “Obviously, he shows once again that he’s a big-game player and [we’re] very happy to have him on our side.