Tampa Bay Lightning fans are going through some incredible hockey withdrawals right now, but the regular season is actually closer than you may think.

The Tampa Bay Lightning season has come to an end. It’s sad, but it’s unfortunately true. While the season may not have ended the way we wanted to it, our Boys in Blue put on one hell of a performance that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

The bad news here is…this leaves us in the place that no hockey fan ever wants to find themselves; the off-season. Some days pass just like every other, then there are those days when you come home, plop down on the couch, and check to see if the Lightning have a game tonight only to discover that the next game is almost four months away.

*Cue the horror movie music!*

The good news is, while these days seem to drag on forever and ever, the start of the 2015-16 season is not as far away as one would be led to believe. In fact, as of today we are just 86 days away from the 2015-16 Tampa Bay Lightning Home Opener against the Philadelphia Flyers.

In honor of the greatness that is today, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look at our very own #86, Nikita Kucherov.

The 22 year old Moscow native is about to begin his second full season on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s main roster. In the 2013-14 season, Kucherov did play in 52 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but this was supplemented by the 17 games he suited up for with the Syracuse Crunch.

We think it is pretty safe to say that Nikita Kucherov has made a name for himself with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last season, Kucherov finished off the regular season with 29 goals and 36 assists for a grand total of 65 points to go along with his spectacular plus-38 rating.

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This put Kucherov in a tie for second place on the team in goals and third place on the team in overall points. The only two players to surpass or tie Kucherov in goals were his linemate Tyler Johnson and Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos.

The sheer dominance of the Triplet Line in the post season gave Kucherov a real chance to shine. Once again, Kucherov came in second place in goals and points in the post season with his 10 goals and 12 assists, which combined for 22 points in the post season.

Just like in the regular season, the only person to surpass the “Russian Rifle” was his linemate Tyler Johnson. We don’t know about you, but we are starting to see a pattern here.

If there is anything that we can say with absolute certainly is that this is going to be an exciting season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. These young players have gotten a taste of what it means to play for the Stanley Cup, and you can bet that they will use what they learned to make another trip this season.

Thankfully, we are only 86 more days from the beginning of the next chapter in their journey. What are you most looking forward to next season? Is there are particular matchup that you are anxious to see? Let us know what you think in the comments below.