Add the Philadelphia Flyers to the list of NHL teams that have recently been victimized by the league’s most dangerous player right now.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov—the league’s back-to-back First Star of the Week and scoring champion—scored two goals in the first period against Philadelphia on Saturday and finished with four points to power the Lightning to a 7-2 victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The win extends Tampa Bay’s win streak to an NHL-leading nine straight games, the team’s longest since the 2019-20 season.

“The guys are getting rewarded for doing the little things right. You want to put yourself in position to make the playoffs, you have to have a couple of these streaks,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said postgame. “What do they say? Nine’s a fluke, 10 would be a streak.”

Kucherov didn’t waste any time in getting his name on the scoresheet, burying the 1-0 goal only 1:21 into Saturday’s contest.

Teammate Brayden Point forced a Flyers turnover in their defensive zone before feathering a backhand pass to an open Kucherov for the one-timed shot at the right goalpost.

Philadelphia found the tying goal 4:15 into the game, this one a redirected point shot off the stick of forward Garnet Hathaway in the high slot.

Kucherov got the lead back for the visitors less than two minutes later, making it 2-1 when he entered the Flyers zone and ripped his shot into the top right corner of the net from the left faceoff circle.

The goal extended the 32-year-old forward’s multi-point streak to eight games, becoming the first NHL player to post as many consecutive multi-point games since former teammate Steven Stamkos had a nine-game run in April 2022 for the Lightning. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (8 GP in 2018-19) is the only other active NHLer to achieve the feat.

Kucherov has a point in every game of Tampa Bay’s win streak and leads the team with nine goals and 23 points in that time.

“I’m just so impressed by it,” Point said of Kucherov postgame. “It’s every year, and I think a lot of it is not only his talent but his dedication and his work ethic to the game. He’s our best player, and he works the hardest. Not only is he gifted, but he’s worked really hard to become one of the best players in the league.”

Tampa Bay cushioned its lead late in the second period with a rebound goal from forward Nick Paul.

The forward crashed the net after an initial shot by defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous and then chipped the loose puck over the stretched glove of Philadelphia goalie Samuel Ersson to make it 3-1 with 6:23 left in the middle frame.

Tampa Bay added plenty of insurance with more offense in the third period.

Gage Goncalves scored a highlight-reel goal 2:03 into the third period to extend the lead, powering to the goal line after a feed from Kucherov before cutting to the net under a Flyers defenseman’s stick and shelving his shot for the 4-1 score.

Brandon Hagel made it 5-1 by beating a Flyer to an area pass in front of their net and shooting the puck through Ersson’s blocker 3:37 into the third.

Despite Philadelphia getting a power-play goal to cut the lead to 5-2, Tampa Bay had more offense in store—Yanni Gourde scored his first goal since Nov. 28 on a breakaway shot, and Goncalves’ second goal of the night came on a shot from the right circle after a cross-ice feed from Kucherov with nine minutes remaining to make it 7-2.

“In the third period, pucks had eyes for us a bit,” Cooper said, “and it happens because sometimes you go through stretches where that doesn’t happen and it can be a little frustrating. But I thought our guys worked and we defended, and I think in the end they got rewarded for some of the things they did.”

Point finished with three assists for the Lightning, who got the two goals from Goncalves as well as two assists from both Anthony Cirelli and D’Astous. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves for his seventh straight win.

The same teams are set for a 7 p.m. rematch on Monday at XFinity Mobile Arena.

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

Nikita Kucherov, TBL (2 goals, 2 assists)

Brayden Point, TBL (3 assists)

Gage Goncalves, TBL (2 goals)