Looking back at a record breaking October for the Tampa Bay Lightning

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
October 31, 2017

The Tampa Bay Lightning finished off the best opening month to the season in franchise history.

So as the calendar turns to November, let’s go back and recap the month of October.

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First, let’s take a look at some by-the-numbers from October:

10 – Victories, a team record for October and one short of the single-month franchise record

53 – Goals scored, most in the league

Plus-17 – Goal differential, best in the league

14 – Number of different players who scored at least one goal

6 – Consecutive home victories to start the season, a franchise record

21 – Points in the standings, tied for third most in a single month in franchise history

8 – Times the Lightning scored at least four goals in a game

13 – Games required to reach 10 victories, fewest in franchise history according to Elias Sports Bureau

Now, on to some individual achievements:

Steven Stamkos: So much for easing his way back in to the lineup. Stamkos ended up with 24 points in 13 games to lead the league while registering a league-best 18 assists. He opened the season with points in 11 consecutive games and had points in 12 of the 13. Stamkos had eight multi-point games and three games with three-or-more points. After starting with just one goal in the first six games, he scored five in the seven games in October. With 20 points in the first 10 games, he became the first player since Mario Lemieux in 2002-03 to register at least 20 points in the opening 10 games of the season and one of six players to accomplish the feat since 1993-94 (a list that includes Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Eric Lindros and Lemieux).

Stamkos earned No. 1 star of the month honors from the league after leading all players in assists and points for October.

Nikita Kucherov: Paired with Stamkos, Kucherov showed the same kind of scoring touch to start the season that he ended with last season. Kucherov finished the month with 13 goals to lead the league. He became the sixth player in the modern era (since 1943-44) to open the season with goals in seven consecutive games. Like Stamkos, Kucherov opened on an 11-game scoring streak as the two linemates became the first set of teammates to open the season with points in 11 consecutive games since 1992-93. Kucherov picked up a point in 12 of the 13 games in the month, scored a goal in 11 of the 13 games. He recorded eight multi-point games and two multi-goal games. Kucherov finished with 21 points, second most in the league behind only Stamkos as the tandem became the first teammates to finish October with 20-or-more points each since Philadelphia’s Eric Lindros and John LeClair in 1995, according to Elias.

Kucherov earned No. 2 star of the month honors from the league after leading all players in goals and second in points. It marks the first time in franchise history Tampa Bay has landed two players in the Player of the Month honors from the league.

Andrei Vasilevkiy: Most goalies will tell you the only stat they care about is victories and Vasilevskiy ended the month with 10 victories to tie an NHL record for most in a single month, according to Elias Sports Bureau, tying Manny Legace (Detroit, 2005-06) and Craig Anderson (Colorado in 2009-10). Vaslievskiy is also riding a nine-game winning streak in to November to set the franchise record for consecutive victories. Vasilevskiy also had a stretch of six consecutive games in which he allowed two or fewer goals.

Mikhail Sergachev: The teenager was a bit of an unknown after coming over from Montreal in a summer trade for Jonathan Drouin. All he’s done is come in and surprise many with not only his play on the ice, but his role on the team. He’s quickly adapted himself to the lineup. Though only averaging 13:22 of ice time per game, he’s fifth on the team in scoring with 11 points. He’s tied for the league lead among defensemen with four goals and is tied for third with 11 points. He’s averaging two shots per game and his 10 points through 11 games were one short of the most by a teenage defenseman int eh first 11 games over the past 30 seasons. Zach Werenski had 11 last season for Columbus.

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