With just 16 games remaining for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nikita Kucherov's quest for 100 points on the season is unlikely. But reaching the century mark isn't impossible, especially considering Kucherov's magical play of late.
The Lightning forward has been far and away the NHL's hottest player over the last couple weeks. The 23-year-old is in the midst of a stretch that saw him named the league's player of the week on Monday after amassing nine points in just four games, and he's not slowing down.
After a pointless outing Monday against the New York Rangers, Kucherov turned in another three points against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday to continue his hot streak.
Since Feb. 21 - a stretch of eight games - Kucherov has gone pointless just once and has picked up an astonishing 17 points. That amounts to an average of 2.125 points per game - a crazy and likely unsustainable number.
But if Kucherov manages to close out the season firing at the same rate, he'd amass an additional 34 points to reach the 100-point plateau.
Whether or not this near-inhuman stretch will continue is to be seen, but what is certain is the 2016-17 season will go down as Kucherov's best.
Related: Kucherov hits 30-goal plateau for 2nd straight season
After Thursday's two goals and one assist, Kucherov has 30 goals and 66 points on the year, the exact totals he finished with last season in 18 fewer games.
Sure, 100 points may be a stretch, but Kucherov seems poised to enter the Art Ross Trophy conversation very soon.
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