VANCOUVER — Standing in the visiting locker room inside Rogers Arena, Nikita Kucherov showed off a blood-clotted upper lip.
The third-year winger was cut courtesy of a high stick from Alex Edler in the second period of Saturday night’s 3-2 overtime victory against Vancouver.
As Kucherov stood there, discussing his winning goal on a breakaway with 1:09 left, he epitomized the season for the Lightning — a little battered, a little bloody, but still standing.
Through all the ups and downs in the first half of the season and the struggles on offense, Kucherov has been a consistent threat.