NHL Desk · Lightning Season Recap · October 25, 2026

Kucherov Owns the Record Book. The Lightning Own October — Almost.

Ten games in, the Tampa Bay Lightning are 7-2-1 with 15 points, off to their best start since the 2020-21 season — the one that ended with a second straight Stanley Cup. The headline of October is a coronation. The footnote is a road trip that just reminded everybody how thin the margin is.

The coronation

On Tuesday night in Las Vegas, Nikita Kucherov put up a goal and two assists in a 6–2 rout of the Golden Knights — and walked out tied with Steven Stamkos for the franchise points record at 1,137. On Saturday in Utah, one more assist made it his alone: 1,138 career points, in 890 games. Stamkos needed 1,082. Kucherov has been the best player in franchise history for a while; now the book says it in ink. He opened the season with 13 points in his first nine games, and his personal history against Vegas is now a trivia weapon — a point in all 15 career games against the Golden Knights.

The start, honestly graded

The Vegas win was the statement: six goals, Anthony Cirelli scoring twice, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping 32, and a 7-2-0 record that matched the franchise's best opening since the repeat-Cup year. Then came the weekend. Friday in Denver, the Lightning lost 6–3 to Colorado despite two goals from Jake Guentzel. Saturday in Utah, they led 3–1 and 4–2 — and lost 5–4 in overtime, on a back-to-back with Vasilevskiy rested. Two leads, two losses, one point banked.

The watch list

Cirelli left the Vegas game and did not play the third period; Jon Cooper offered no update. He was back in the lineup in Colorado and Utah — but his minutes bear watching. Victor Hedman played just 5:56 in Denver before his night ended early; any game the captain can't finish changes this team's math. And the depth is quietly producing: Conor Geekie, Pontus Holmberg and defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous all scored on the trip.

The verdict

The file says contender: elite top end, a rested-and-ready Vasilevskiy, and a record pace. The weekend says the Lightning still have to prove they can close on the road against the West's best. October ends with Kucherov on top of the record book and Tampa Bay near the top of the league. "Almost" is the only word keeping this recap from being a victory lap.

Sources: NHL.com and Associated Press game recaps; official box scores. Records through October 24, 2026.