Highlight: Nikita Kucherov opens the scoring in Game 2.

Game Two of the Lightning’s first round series got off to a fantastic start for the “home” team. The Lightning jumped out to a 10-0 lead in shots and had a 1-0 lead thanks to their top line.

Ondrej Palat had two solid chances, the first Joonas Korpisalo saved and the second went over the net. Nikita Kucherov was the first to get to the puck behind the net and he banged it off of the goalkeeper and into the net.

It wasn’t the prettiest goal of his career, but nobody cares how they look in the playoffs.

For Kucherov it’s his second goal of this year’s postseason, but the first goal he’s scored in a seven game series since Game Three against the Washington Capitals in 2018. He had gone eight games without finding the back of the net (if you don’t count the Qualifying Round games as playoff games, which the NHL kind of does).

In three playoff games against Columbus last year Kucherov had just two assists. Through two games this year he already has three points (1 goal, 2 assists).