Kucherov repeated Gretzky's achievement in scoring in three consecutive NHL seasons.

Russian forward Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored his 80th and 81st assists in the National Hockey League (NHL) match against the New York Rangers, repeating the result of Canadian Wayne Gretzky for 80+ passes in three or more NHL seasons in a row. The meeting took place on April 8 and ended with a score of 5:1 in favor of the team from the state of Florida.

"Nikita Kucherov scored a goal and provided two assists, bringing his score to 115 points (34 goals, 81 assists) this season, which allowed him to share first place in the NHL goalscoring race with Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon," the NHL's official website says.

It is specified that Kucherov reached a record and became the fourth player in the history of the NHL, who managed to give 80 or more assists in three consecutive seasons. Previously, only Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr had achieved this feat.

Gretzky's record is broken: Alexander Ovechkin became the best sniper in the history of the NHL

Earlier, Russian forward of the Washington Capitals hockey club Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season on April 6 against the New York Islanders, thereby breaking the record of four-time Stanley Cup winner Wayne Gretzky, who scored 894 goals.

The Russian hockey player was congratulated on the record by the TV channels of the National Media Group and Sergey Zhukov. The performer dedicated a clip to the hockey player's favorite song from the repertoire of the musical group to the historical achievement with a modified text dedicated to the record goal.