Tampa Bay Lighting winger Nikita Kucherov was one of three NHL players to reach the 100-point mark last season, but his production dropped off late in the team's playoff run.

Kucherov, who finished the postseason with seven goals and 17 points in 17 games, had just one goal and five points in the Eastern Conference final against the Washington Capitals. He was held off the scoresheet in Game 6 and 7 as the Lighting blew a 3-2 series lead with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line for the second time in three years.

“I definitely didn’t feel I played my best hockey I could play,” Kucherov told Joe Smith of The Athletic. “It just happened to be that period of time. Sometimes things go well for you, sometimes you’re not feeling right. Something is off. And I don’t want it to happen again. I’m going to make sure to work on it and make sure I’m hungry every game. Looking back, I would have done some things differently, preparation and stuff, little things before games.

“It sucks. It sucks losing. It sucks understanding we lost again in Game 7 in the semi-finals and we were that close.”

The Lightning rebounded last season after missing the playoffs the previous year. The team loaded up at the trade deadline, adding Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers, but shied away from the UFA market after missing out on John Tavares earlier this summer. 

Kucherov, who signed an eight-year, $76-million extension last month, said he doesn't believe the Lightning need any external changes and instead need to focus on their mindset to get past the third round of the playoffs.

“I don’t feel like we need much different,” Kucherov said. “We have to be more consistent in our game, more calmed down if things don’t go well. Always believe in ourselves. Down three goals? You can finish the game the right way.

“It’s similar what happened against Pittsburgh [in the 2016 conference final] and what happened with [Washington] – up 3-2. We have to, especially for those games, be ready 100 per cent. It’s the most important games of our lives. We’ve got to make sure we’re ready and consistent, from the first minute to the end.

“We want to dominate the game, we want the puck on our stick, we want to make plays. We want to make it look good for the fans so they enjoy it. You don’t want a boring game. We appreciate the fans being there for us, they’re huge. So the more beautiful we play, the more people will want to come.”

Kucherov admitted that the Lightning could benefit from past losses and learn a thing or two from the Capitals success this past spring.

“Sure,” Kucherov said. “Their whole team was unbelievable in the playoff run. Every line was fired up and they were playing the best hockey they ever played. I’m not sure some of those guys will ever play the same hockey they played in that series. You have to have every guy ready, from your leaders to other guys. Everyone has to be ready to play your best hockey.

“That’s where I think for us maybe it’s huge in preparing for the big thing [winning the Cup]. I hope it’s going to happen soon. We’re close every time, but we need something. Through all those years we learned a lot and learned from losing.

“We feel we have unfinished business. We’re close. One day it’s going to come, for sure. It’s just going to blow up.”

The Lightning will begin their latest pursuit of the Stanley Cup on Oct. 6, when they open their regular season against the Florida Panthers.