The Wrapround: Perry, trade deadline additions delivering for Lightning

In the grand scheme of things, Nikita Kucherov just being that much better during the playoffs is the big story so far in this Panthers – Lightning series.

Just consider how Kucherov swung things heading into Game 3 (1:30 p.m. ET). In Game 1, Kucherov deked Aaron Ekblad out of the building to set up a key Corey Perry goal. In Game 2, MacKenzie Weegar did not detect what would become essentially a buzzer-beating assist from Kucherov to Ross Colton.

Compare Kucherov’s superstar work (assists on both game-winning goals, a key goal in Game 1) to that of Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov (a mere assist between them), and it’s clear that Tampa Bay is winning the star battle in a big way.

Yet, as the Lightning push for a three-peat, the organization is once again showing a deft hand in adding supporting cast members who also make a key difference.

Perhaps the most startling difference-maker is Corey Perry.

By adding players to bolster a three-peat effort, some of the logic is to bring in fresher legs for a Lightning team that’s been through some real battles. Yet, with Corey Perry, you can throw that logic — really, a lot of logic — out the window.

Perry, 37, is the one player who’s appeared in more games (58) than any Lightning player during their three-peat bid. It’s almost audacious how effective he’s been, considering his age, all of that extra playoff fatigue, and the notion that it seemed like Perry was nearing NHL irrelevance as long ago as when the Ducks bought him out in 2019.

Yet, there Corey Perry is. He’s scored three points for the Lightning in two games against the Panthers, and even showing that a puck to the face can only slow him down so much.

” … When I look at where he ended up statistically at the end