Hockey on the Beach: Tampa Bay Lightning Rebound After Post-Olympic Slump

Nikita Kucherov is on fire. Will he win his second Hart Trophy? It's a complicated off-ice journey. Daria Mironova and Ken Filler of the Tampa Bay Sports Journal discuss the Tampa Bay Lightning's week, filled with penalty minutes, fights, and defensive issues. Luckily, Thursday’s 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings was an important confidence boost for the Bolts. Jake Guentzel and Gage Goncalves each scored twice. The hosts improved to one hooking penalty in 60 minutes. Nikita Kucherov collected two assists to total 106 points in the season and 1100 in his NHL career. This incredible achievement put him in 19th place in the league’s history to reach 1100 points in fewer than 900 contests. He has points in nine consecutive games. Andrei Vasilevskiy celebrated his 30th win in the 2025-26 campaign. It's his ninth consecutive season with 30+ wins. Next week, Jon Cooper and his team will leave for a four-game road trip to the West. Listen to the Hockey on the Beach podcast, Tampa Bay Lightning edition, every week on all major audio platforms and join us on social media for more fun stuff. Hockey on the Beach IG