TAMPA – A long time ago in a playoffs far, far removed from now, much criticism heaped itself upon the shoulders of Nikita Kucherov.
When the Tampa Bay Lightning continued to leave postseason expectations unfulfilled, many needed to find a reason, someone to blame, a scapegoat to point toward.
Kucherov took the brunt of that bitterness.
As Tampa Bay's top offensive star, when the goals dried up and the losses followed, the side eye glares honed in on the second round pick from the 2011 draft.
These days the only criticism directed toward Kucherov involves the manufactured controversy surround...
