Shirtless, possibly inebriated Kucherov torches Fleury, Montreal fans in wild post-game rant
Fleury #Fleury
Freed at last from the pressure-cooker known as postseason hockey, Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov let his hair down Wednesday night, entertaining questions from reporters while shirtless following the Bolts’ clinching Game 5 victory over Montreal. Seemingly overflowing with liquid courage, the 28-year-old Russian began his press conference with a meandering rant, praising Conn Smythe recipient Andrei Vasilevskiy between sips of Bud Light.
“I was telling him every day, Vasey, you’re MVP. You’re the best player. And then they gave it to whatever the guy in Vegas, the Vezina,” said Kucherov, throwing shade at Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who was awarded the Vezina Trophy (given annually to the league’s top netminder) over Vasilevskiy. “And then last year they gave the Vezina to someone else. No. 1 bulls—. Vasey took both cups.”
Despite his Vezina snub, Vasilevskiy was phenomenal for Tampa Bay, blanking the Canadiens in Wednesday’s deciding Game 5 for his fifth shutout of the postseason. Kucherov, who led all playoff scorers with 32 points (remarkable considering he didn’t play a single minute of the regular season due to a hip injury), had plenty more to get off his chest, continuing to air his grievances while board operators in television trucks scrambled to find the dump button.
“I didn’t want to go back to Montreal. The fans in Montreal, come on. They acted like they won the Stanley Cup last game,” said Kucherov, mocking Canadiens supporters for celebrating Monday night’s Game 4 victory, their only win of the series. “Are you kidding me? Their final was last series.”
The Lightning finished just third in their own division during the regular season but rolled through the playoffs, extinguishing Florida, Carolina, New York (the Islanders took them to seven games) and Montreal en route to their second straight Stanley Cup. Kucherov, who earned Hart Trophy honors as the league’s MVP in 2018, is Tampa Bay’s career postseason leader in most scoring categories including points (127), goals (44) and assists (83).
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