NHL Weekly: Wildcard system annoys heavyweight sides, Kucherov stars for Lightning

[h2]The most productive player[/h2][p]3.25. That's the point average of new scoring leader [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kucherov-nikita/CCOwSw87/"]Nikita Kucherov[/a] from Tampa Bay's past four games. First he swept Seattle with five points, then added three points against Vancouver, four more against Edmonton and just one against Calgary on Sunday. Maybe that's why the Lightning only took a point in a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/calgary-flames-EZekktRt/tampa-bay-lightning-YVE3zk1c/summary/stats/?mid=44iOdeb4"]3-4[/a] overtime loss.[/p][embed guid="6512a0f1-8853-4aa6-ad56-fe487ab6effb" url="https://x.com/NHL/status/2035584339342139653" social-type="twitter" /][p]All in all, the Russian collected six goals and seven assists and became the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1995/96 to collect 75 points in 33 games. And of course he excelled in other numbers as well. Nobody could compete with him with +11, and together with his teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raddysh-darren/dd2BLyG3/"]Darren Raddysh[/a], he also led in 20 shots on goal. He also scored two winning goals.[/p][h2]Goaltender of the Week[/h2][p]Probably the most dangerous team of the moment could rely on the towering [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/luukkonen-ukko-pekka/zmFi40uk/"]Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen[/a] (27). He appeared in two games for Buffalo, didn't score at all against Vegas and kept his first zero of the season and eighth of his career, and got a single goal against Los Angeles. In total, he stopped 55 shots and had a save percentage of 98.2%.[/p][embed guid="01d37bf0-5f2a-489f-8762-4cf700a9c238" url="https://x.com/NHL/status/2034136176144093360" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Czech of the Week[/h2][p]A rampant [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pastrnak-david/dnZgEHz4/"]David Pastrnak[/a] helped Boston to two wins, but his Bruins scored in all four games on the week. The team leader collected a total of seven points, four of which were goals. In addition, he only needed 11 shots to do it.[/p][embed guid="9c32d7c8-9a1c-4511-a1a6-a8552e717665" url="https://x.com/Sportsnet/status/2035529336543957379" social-type="twitter" /][p]The popular Pasta also reached the 500 assist mark in the NHL, which he did as the sixth Czech to do so, and he ranked fourth in the Bruins organisation in assists earned rate. He also had the support of his recently born daughter in the stands.[/p][embed guid="e0b6a82e-298f-413d-a001-5c1718e91c8f" url="https://x.com/NESN/status/2034765326873735328" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Highlight of the Week[/h2][p]Since the 2013-14 NHL play-offs, the NHL play-offs have been played under the Wild Card system, and it regularly stirs up controversy. But this season, criticism of the not-so-popular format is growing.[/p][p][b]"We're happy as can be. With the Wild Card, we have probably the most attractive first round of the play-offs of any sport,"[/b] league boss Gary Bettman told The Athletic a few days ago.[/p][p]But the players, though they rarely talk about it out loud, aren't too happy. Some series are completely unnecessarily repetitive (the Los Angeles Kings have always faced Edmonton in the first round the last four years and have fallen out every time) and some general managers are fed up.[/p][embed guid="fa59e8c0-56d5-4496-bd76-a1795cb369ee" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-qTsb9bPkE&t=1s" social-type="youtube" /][p]For example, Minnesota's Bill Guerin, his Wild team is in a loaded Central Division with dominant Colorado and strong Dallas. Those three teams are currently leading the entire Western Conference, but because they share a division together at the same time, that means two of those teams have to meet in the first round right away. And that's even though the second and third teams in the conference will be battling each other.[/p][p][b]"I personally would like to see a change, but I understand why the league does it this way,"[/b] said a cautious Guerin, who is in his seventh season as the team's general manager and the Wild have high aspirations.[/p][p][b]"On the other hand, a team that works so hard to be on top in the season would deserve to play a team that didn't do so well in the regular season,"[/b] he continued in an interview with TSN.[/p][embed guid="e3816a4c-93ac-4202-a01d-89d0439d3493" url="https://x.com/Sportsnet/status/2035589874472960179" social-type="twitter" /][p]Who can benefit from the whole situation are teams in the Pacific Division, for example, who will be avoided by some of the giants right off the bat in the play-offs.[/p][p][b]"It's kind of a pillow fight,"[/b] Edmonton's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcdavid-connor/0018zFz5/"][b]Connor McDavid[/b][/a] described the battle quite accurately after the Oilers fell to Tampa on Saturday.[/p][p]With 77 points currently, his pick would go to Vegas, a team that has been severely out of form the last few weeks. If it weren't for the Wild Card format, the Oilers would have been seventh and gone to the other team.[/p][h2]Stat of the Week[/h2][p]Buffalo's incredible run continues and - even with their current form - it's pretty clear that the Sabres will be playing for the Stanley Cup again for the first time since 2011. And how is the team doing now? Wonderful. The last time Detroit managed such a successful set of forty games in a row was in 1995/96.[/p][embed guid="3ec4d672-2e17-42bd-b476-10935b6c6ca6" url="https://x.com/BuffaloSabres/status/2035019785260691575" social-type="twitter" /][h2]From social media[/h2][p]The rivalry between Toronto and Montreal is a big one and should not be underestimated. In a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/new-york-islanders-xESz5TGG/toronto-maple-leafs-ShE7Z8G3/summary/stats/?mid=CfMIOAnL"]1-3[/a] game between the Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders, a puck flew into the stands midway through the game and hit a fan wearing a Canadiens jersey! It's hard to say what he was doing there...[/p][embed guid="287664c1-b93a-42f1-b36d-302c40276b99" url="https://x.com/BarDown/status/2034065310848782763" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Photo of the Week[/h2][p]Injury has sidelined [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/draisaitl-leon/M1Ed8wTa/"]Leon Draisaitl[/a] for at least the rest of the regular season, so there's room for some leisure activities. The Edmonton superstar headed to his home country and attended the game between Bayern Munich and Union Berlin on Saturday, which the favourite won [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bayern-munich-nVp0wiqd/union-berlin-pzHW4oaE/summary/stats/?mid=hj5ikutm"]4-0[/a]. The Cologne native also visited the booth and met several of the home team's stars.[/p][embed guid="0c7a96ec-4a33-4d91-bc7e-4e131335bd5c" url="https://x.com/FCBayern/status/2035434669320134764" social-type="twitter" /][p]--------------------------------------------------[/p][p]Sponsored by:[/p][p]Watch the NHL via Season Pass on DAZN[/p][p]--------------------------------------------------[/p]