TAMPA, Fla. — In previous years, if you ran into Nikita Kucherov during a scoring slump, you’d find a real grump.



That might be putting it mildly — the ultra-competitive All-Star couldn’t hide his torment over his on-ice struggles. You could see the sulk in his body language on the ice. The way he’d slam his stick into the boards. Or how he’d pore over his shifts on video after the game. He’d bring it home with him at night.



“It used to be, if I wasn’t scoring, I would always get down on myself so hard,” Kucherov said.



But this season, teammates and coaches have sensed a change. A more “relaxed” Russian. Perhaps, it is partly due to the security of Kucherov’s long-term deal, an eight-year, $76 million contract signed in July. It could be the added maturity that comes with another year in the league.



But Kucherov, 25, noted that it’s difficult to stay down when he...