Race for leadership: will Kucherov be able to become the top scorer of the season

NHL matches resume after the Olympic break. Nikita Kucherov will compete for the Art Ross Trophy, Alexander Ovechkin will compete for the playoffs, and Artemy Panarin is settling into a new team. We are talking about the main intrigues of the rest of the regular season for Russian players.

Chasing Canadians

By the resumption of the NHL regular season, Russian forward Nikita Kucherov is the third in the list of scorers. He scored 91 (29+62) points. Connor McDavid is on the first line (96), Nathan McKinnon is on the second (93). Both are representatives of the Maple Leafs national team. Kucherov is also followed by a Canadian, a young talent from San Jose, McLean Celebrini. It is these strikers who will compete for the Art Ross Trophy.

McDavid's five-point lead over the Lightning striker doesn't guarantee anything at all. Indeed, back in early January, Kucherov was already 16 points behind the Canadian. However, over the past month Nikita has demonstrated fantastic performance and significantly reduced the gap. The Russian is able to make up the gap of five points in one game. He has already proved this season that he can do it. Nikita scored one goal against San Jose and assisted his teammates four times.

Due to the outstanding performance of Kucherov, it becomes clear before the pause that he is definitely able not only to match Connor, but also to overtake him. Nikita played 16 matches and scored 40 points in this fantastic stretch. It seems that with the resumption of the regular season, Kucherov will finish what he started and become the owner of the Art Ross Trophy. Moreover, his Tampa Bay has currently played three fewer games than McDavid's Edmonton.

Will Panarin take root in Los Angeles

Artemy Panarin became the main headliner among Russians before the NHL break, partly overshadowing Kucherov's overachievement. The thing is that a day before the start of the Olympic break, his new team became known. Artemy was traded from the Rangers to the Los Angeles Kings.

In January, Rangers general manager Chris Drury informed Panarin that the club had no plans to offer him a new contract and would work to find a team to trade the forward. "Artemiy is an incredible player. Perhaps the best signing from the free agent market in the club's 100-year history. He deserves a chance at the title, and we wanted to give him that chance while we rebuild the team," Drury commented on his decision.

Powerful options with Washington, Dallas and Tampa flashed in the information space. But on February 4, Panarin signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings. The team from California is not even close to being considered a contender for the championship and does not even look like the kind of club that is capable of making noise in the playoffs. Los Angeles needs to get there first. So far, the Kings are not among the top eight in the West, but the margin is small — three points.

Artemiy has already held his first training session for the Kings and talked about how he feels in the new team.:

— Due to the rather long break, it was difficult to maintain physical fitness. It's nice to see the guys around, because I've skated alone a few times, and it's not that much fun. The Olympic break gives me time to get to know the players and do a couple of training sessions. Usually, the guys who are exchanged play the next day on the other side of the country, so it's easier for me," Panarin told the club's press service.

With Artemy's arrival, the Kings' attacking potential will definitely grow. At a minimum, he is able to improve the implementation of the majority in a new team for himself. Los Angeles has big problems with this component (16%). With the strengthening of Panarin, it seems that this difficulty will be solved, and the chances of the Kings getting into the playoffs are increasing.

When will Ovechkin leave Washington?

Alexander Ovechkin spent the Olympic break with his family in Dubai. And he returned to the US capital without answering the question about continuing his career. The 40-year-old striker's contract expires at the end of the season. The Caps legend has only re-signed agreements with the club twice. In 2021, the parties announced a deal — a contract for five years and $ 47.5 million assumed that the Russian would complete the pursuit of a sniper record. He got to the top much earlier.

Last spring, other topics became relevant, including the potential for a second Stanley Cup and the opportunity to stay in North America. Washington boss Ted Leonsis and the management leave the decision to the player.

— No, I don't know yet. We need to make a decision. We need to talk to the family, Ted [Leonsis], the CEO [Chris Patrick], and then we'll see. [There may not be a decision until the end of the season."Probably,— Ovechkin said.

After the Olympic break, Washington has 23 games left in the race for a spot in the Eastern Conference Cup Eight. Spencer Carbery's team is four points behind Boston and the Islanders with more games played. The Capitals were even leading in the East in early December, but at the crucial stage of the regular season, after the Christmas break, they began to lag behind the dense group of playoff contenders. At the end of January, the Capitals found themselves in a desperate situation, but they were able to fix the situation.

"We're going to have to win almost every game to make the playoffs," Ovechkin said. — We are in a position where we cannot lose. You could see how we played against Nashville [4-2] and the Islanders [4-1], everyone was focused. Of course, sometimes there is fatigue and fatigue from games accumulates when you just want to take a break and relax as soon as possible. But you could see that all the guys gave their all to score those points, and we're still in the fight.

A year ago, Washington and Alexander once again exceeded expectations, showed high performance and combined a great personal pursuit with victory in the conference. Now the realization leaves much to be desired again, and Ovechkin alternates a series of goals with a drought. The captain scored only once in 14 matches in a month after the beginning of December, and after a new outbreak at the start of 2026, he scored only twice in 13 games. The striker did not update his counter in five matches before the break, but the team won four of them. At the same time, the Great Eight remains the Capitals' second sharpshooter of the season with 22 goals and 48 points in 59 games, while Tom Wilson has just one more puck.

Two years ago, Alexander spent a mini-vacation in Dubai with his family during a break for the NHL All-Star Game. That season was one of the worst in the Russian's career, but by spring he had transformed himself and scored 22 goals in 35 matches, and the capital's team sensationally reached the playoffs in Carbery's first year of work - in the final game of the regular season it took the last cup place. Now Washington is facing a new challenge in a busy schedule due to the Olympic break.

The addition of the race for the playoffs for Alexander remains the update of sniper achievements. He is very close to a thousand goals in his career, taking into account the regular season and the Stanley Cup — now he has 996 (919+77) on his account. Before him, only Wayne Gretzky had scored four—digit goals - 1016 (894+122). At the same time, the Russian emphasizes that he is not too focused on this record.