Mammoth vs. Lightning: Dmitri Simashev's Overtime Winner Spoils Nikita Kucherov's Record Night

Nikita Kucherov got the record. Dmitri Simashev got the last word.

Kucherov became the Tampa Bay Lightning's all-time leader in points in the first period on Saturday night, but the Utah Mammoth erased two separate two-goal deficits and won it 5-4 in overtime at Delta Center. Simashev, a defenseman who had never scored an NHL goal before the night started, tied the game late in the second and then tapped in a Barrett Hayton feed at the left post on a rush at 1:44 of overtime. Two career goals, one game, one ruined party.

Kucherov Passes Stamkos

The history arrived at 12:42 of the first. Kucherov set up a Brayden Point power-play goal, his 10th assist of the season, and that point gave him 1,138 with Tampa Bay, one more than Steven Stamkos. According to NHL.com, Kucherov's total is 405 goals and 733 assists in 890 games, while Stamkos, who now plays for Nashville, piled up 1,137 points in 1,082 games. The AP noted Stamkos had owned the record since April 2022.

Kucherov, true to form, sounded more annoyed about the loss than thrilled about the milestone. "That's fine. We just lost the game, and you know, tough one," he said. "Don't even know what to think, but it means a lot. I appreciate everyone who played with me and been a big part of it."

His coach was a little more sentimental. "We've been together since 2013-14. It's 2026, so I've had the pleasure of watching every one of those points," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, adding that Kucherov is "going to go down as one of the all-time greats."

Point grabbed a slice of franchise history too. NHL.com said his goal tied Vincent Lecavalier (112) for the second-most power-play goals in Lightning history, behind only Stamkos.

Five Goals Before the First Intermission

The opening period was pure chaos, like a group chat at 2 a.m. Jake Guentzel opened the scoring at 5:10 when his shot from the point went in off the stick of Utah's Nate Schmidt and through Karel Vejmelka's legs. It was Guentzel's seventh goal. Kailer Yamamoto answered unassisted at 7:02 for his third.

Tampa pulled ahead again at 10:06 when Pontus Holmberg beat Vejmelka over the shoulder, with Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh assisting. Then Point tapped in the record-setting Kucherov feed on the power play for a 3-1 lead. Utah got one back at 17:39 when Dylan Guenther ripped a power-play one-timer, his fifth goal, off feeds from Mikhail Sergachev and Clayton Keller.

Conor Geekie restored the two-goal cushion at 5:32 of the second, lifting the puck over Vejmelka's glove for a 4-2 Tampa lead. That was the last time the Lightning scored.

The Comeback Is On

Anders Lee cut it to 4-3 at 14:39 of the second, deflecting a bouncing puck off a MacKenzie Weegar shot. Vincent Trocheck picked up the secondary assist, and he was back on the ice at 17:02 when Simashev snapped a wrist shot past Dennis Hildeby's blocker to tie it 4-4.

"We needed all facets of our game, especially in the third period," Lee said. "Just proud of the group that we settled in and didn't get away from what we needed to do tonight."

The third period was scoreless, which set up an overtime that lasted barely long enough to sit down. Hayton found Simashev at the left post on the rush, and the defenseman buried it, with Vejmelka collecting the secondary assist. A goalie getting a helper on the winner is always a fun little footnote.

"I was just so happy when I scored the goal. That's all my feelings right now," Simashev said. "I think I had chances in the last game. The boys had chances, and I think maybe luck was on my side today."

According to NHL.com, it was the first time a Mammoth player scored his first two NHL goals in the same game.

Who Carried the Night

Simashev finished with two goals in 15:53. Trocheck was the engine behind him, posting two assists and winning 17 of 23 faceoffs. Utah won the dot 45-29 as a team, and that possession edge mattered as the night wore on. Weegar logged 25:20 with six hits, and Sergachev logged 26:01.

Vejmelka recovered from a rough first period to stop 29 of 32 shots. At the other end, Hildeby made 23 saves on 28 shots for an .821 save percentage, the kind of number a goalie quietly deletes from his phone.

"Scoring a goal at a key moment like he did, I think that's pretty cool," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said of Simashev.

Turning Point: Two Goals in the Last Six Minutes of the Second

Tampa still led 4-2 past the midway mark of the second period. Then Lee and Simashev scored 2:23 apart, and the Lightning went to the dressing room with nothing but a tie and a record to show for their early burst. Tourigny admitted his group was "a little bit nervous" early and found its game in the back half. Point saw it from the other side. "We had the lead and we gave that up, and that's the hard part," he said.

Stats That Matter

• 1,138: Kucherov's points with Tampa Bay, now a franchise record.
• 45-29: Utah's faceoff edge, a 60.8 percent clip, with Trocheck alone going 17-for-23.
• 1-for-3: Both power plays. Special teams were a wash.
• 32-28: Tampa's edge in shots, which did not stop the Lightning from blowing two two-goal leads.
• 2: Career NHL goals for Simashev, both on Saturday.

What It Means

Utah improves to 8-4-0 with 16 points and 4-1-0 at home after losing two of its previous three (1-2-0). The Mammoth host Minnesota on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay drops to 7-3-1 with 15 points and 2-3-1 on the road. This came a night after a 6-3 loss at Colorado, and the Lightning finished their three-game trip 1-1-1. They host Winnipeg on Thursday. "These are three playoff teams, and a lot of them are Stanley Cup contenders," Cooper said. "But we'll go home and regroup and see if we win a couple games at home."

Records Are Forever, Overtime Is Just Saturday

Kucherov now sits alone atop the Lightning's points list, and nothing that happened after the first period changes that. But the most hockey thing about the night was his reaction: a guy who just passed Stamkos, shrugging it off because the team lost. Simashev, meanwhile, got the full main character treatment. Two goals, an overtime winner and a franchise first, all in one Saturday night.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.