Nikita Kucherov Playoff Stats: 2024 Hart Trophy winner's Round 1 numbers vs Florida Panthers 

While the Tampa Bay Lightning are still coming to terms with their early exit from the NHL playoffs, one player's performance cannot go unnoticed – Nikita Kucherov. He shone amidst the overall team's disappointment as the 2024 Hart Trophy winner.

Even in the playoffs, Kucherov showcased his incredible ability and persistence in the first round of their series against the Florida Panthers, but the Lightning ultimately bowed out for this season.

Kucherov's regular-season brilliance, where he led the league in points with an impressive 144 (44 goals and 100 assists), set high expectations for his postseason performance. Although Tampa Bay fell short in the series, losing 4-1 to the Panthers, Kucherov's contributions were still arguably kind of average, if not good.

In Game 5, which ended as a 6-1 loss for the Lightning, Kucherov recorded an assist and a shot on goal but apart from that he remained silent in 22 minutes of ice time.

Earlier in the course of the series, he was likely the main target of the Florida Panthers, who were successful in keeping him off the puck. Despite that, he managed to achieve an outstanding seven assists in as few as five games.

However, he was not able to get past Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. If he could've pierced the Panther's defense, things perhaps would've been different, if not completely in Lightning's favor.

Here's a closer look at Kucherov's game log from the series:

• Game 1: 1 assist, 1 point, plus-minus of -2, 1 shot, 19:47 TOI - (TBL lost 3-2)
• Game 2: 1 assist, 1 point, plus-minus of 1, 2 shots, 22:12 TOI - (TBL lost 3-2 OT)
• Game 3: 1 assist, 1 point, plus-minus of 0, 4 shots, 22:31 TOI - (TBL lost 5-3)
• Game 4: 3 assists, 3 points, plus-minus of 1, 0 shots, 2 PIM, 20:24 TOI - (TBL won 6-3)
• Game 5: 1 assist, 1 point, plus-minus of -1, 1 shot, 22:15 TOI - (TBL lost 6-1)

Nikita Kucherov's average ice time of more than 20 minutes per game reflects his significance to the Lightning for their offensive strategies and his potential ability to influence at crucial moments. However, he was only able to register eight shots on goal in all five games.

Thoughts on Nikita Kucherov's season and expectations for next season

Even though the team had a disappointing early playoff exit, Nikita Kucherov still would be called the NHL's premier right-winger. While luck wasn't on his side in the playoffs, he gave his best to help the team.

His playmaking skills, hockey intelligence and offensive power came together in such a way this season that no one could argue his position as the points leader in the regular season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were not looking good in the regular season either and so the blame couldn't be placed on Kucherov. He helped the Lightning get into the playoffs with his performance in the last 20 or so games. He scored a total of 18 points in the last nine regular season games.

For the Lightning heading into the 2024-25 season, it is Nikita Kucherov who remains the key player while they recalibrate and set their eyes on another long playoff run. Given his abilities and persistence, there is no doubt that Kucherov will continue playing at this level next season. But before that, Tampa Bay will need to fix a few loopholes and work on their consistency.