Stamkos: Kucherov 'playing like a beast right now'

It's not just fans who are in awe of Nikita Kucherov.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, a two-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard winner himself, couldn't help but gush about his teammate's incredible postseason run after Kucherov's three-point effort Monday night.

"That's one of the best players in the world," Stamkos said, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith. "He's playing like a beast right now. He's so, so good."

With two goals and an assist during Tampa Bay's 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the finals, Kucherov is now up to 30 points across 19 contests in these playoffs. The 28-year-old also recorded 34 points in 25 games last year as the Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

Kucherov is now one of three players to ever notch 30 or more points in consecutive postseasons, joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Remarkably, Kucherov's exploits have come despite offseason hip surgery preventing him from playing a single regular-season game. There's also speculation that he's currently playing hurt after he was limited to just 46 seconds in Game 6 of the third round against the New York Islanders.