The Tampa Bay Lightning kicked off the 2023-24 NHL season with a home game against the Nashville Predators. It took roughly half a period for the Lightning to find the back of the net and it was a familiar face accomplishing the feat.
The play starts with a strong carry-in entry from Brayden Point. He’s able to back off the Predators which opens up a lot of room near the blue line for Victor Hedman to survey his options. The pass is over to Nikita Kucherov at the right point and Kuch lets it rip from downtown.
With Steven Stamkos setting a screen in front of the net, Juuse Saros didn’t get a clean look at the puck until it was in the back of the net. He also wasn’t expecting Kucherov to shoot from that distance.
It was a really nice looking set play, almost like a power play, and the execution was perfect. It’s always nice when the top line is in sync this early in the season.
