Nikita Kucherov doesn’t like attention.

He didn’t want to talk about 1,000 points before reaching the milestone. After he hit it Saturday — and then added his 1,001st point, assisting on the winning goal in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-3 victory against the Anaheim Ducks — he spoke to reporters with a hood pulled over his head.

But he deserves attention, and he got it at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. He even showed emotion in the moment, smiling as the bench emptied and his teammates mobbed him, clapping and waving as the fans cheered and the spotlight beamed down on him at center ice.

“It was a great feeling,” Kucherov told reporters. “It was something I never thought I would reach, and I’m really honored. I’m fortunate to have had great teammates along the way. Without them, I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t have done that. And also without the fans’ support. They’ve been a huge part of it, and I’m just really blessed.”

This milestone is meaningful on many levels.

Kucherov reached 1,000 points in 809 games. Only two active players have done it quicker: Connor McDavid (659 games) and Sidney Crosby (757). Only three players born outside North America have done it quicker: Peter Stastny (682), Jari Kurri (716) and Jaromir Jagr (763).

The 32-year-old forward is the sixth player born in Russia to do it, following Alex Ovechkin (1,630), Evgeni Malkin (1,358), Sergei Fedorov (1,179), Alexander Mogilny (1,032) and Alex Kovalev (1,029).

He’s the second player to do it for Tampa Bay, following Steven Stamkos (1,137). All of his points have come under coach Jon Cooper. Only two other players have produced their first 1,000 points under one coach: Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier, each of whom did it under Al Arbour with the New York Islanders.

“It’s been a privilege to stand on the bench to watch him get 1,000,” Cooper told reporters. “It seems like just yesterday he was [entering] the League. But he’s a special, special player. I think he’s going to go down as one of the greatest [players], if not the greatest player, to play in this organization. He’s got a runway left in him. … It’s a lot of points in not a lot of time. It’s pretty impressive.”

Kucherov has won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player (2019), the Stanley Cup twice (2020 and 2021) and the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring champion three times (2019, 2024 and 2025).

“It’s not a fluke,” Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman told reporters after reaching 800 points himself Saturday.

Kucherov is a legend around the NHL for his work ethic. He has studied video of Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, another left-handed shot who plays the right wing and makes plays at an elite level. He has synthetic ice and a net in his garage in Tampa, so he can fire pucks away from the rink.

“I’ve heard a lot about how he gets the most puck touches in the NHL — not in games, but in practice,” said Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who has been facing Kucherov in the Atlantic Division since 2014-15. “It’s impressive, his preparation. He’s obviously a very impressive player, and I enjoy the challenge of playing against him.”

Opponents always try to take time and space away from elite playmakers. But with Kucherov, they must anticipate more than usual. They can’t wait until he has the puck.

“He always seems to know what he’s going to do before he even gets the puck,” said Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling, who often matches up against him on his side of the ice. “He’s got that vision and hockey sense that he knows where the puck’s coming and where the guys are on the ice.”

For his 1,000th point, Kucherov carried the puck across the blue line with his back to the boards on the right wing, head up, scanning. He spotted center Brayden Point on the other side and slipped a pass through a seam. Point handled the puck in the left circle and backhanded it in front, where the puck banked off forward Jake Guentzel and into the net, giving Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead at 12:19 of the second period.