VIDEO: Rookie Nikita Kucherov's first goal opens scoring in Lightning game versus Rangers

The Russian right wing opens scoring on his first everything in the NHL

Nikita Kucherov found himself in first NHL game on Monday night, a day after being recalled from Syracuse of the AHL where he was putting up points galore (13 goals, 11 assists in 17 games played). I've remarked here on Raw Charge about the recall being a breach of standard operational procedures for the Lightning regarding their prospects - slow, deliberate development, big minutes and plenty of patience from the organization.

Yeah, well, about that... Kucherov seems a little impatient on this whole development thing.

In his first game in the National Hockey League (in his first professional season in North America), in his first shift during tonight's Lightning/New York Rangers game, on his very first shot of his NHL career, Nikita decided to give the NHL a piece of his mind and a glimpse of his talent.


As of this writing, the Lightning lead the Rangers 2-0 on Kucherov's goal and a tally by team captain Martin St. Louis.