The Tampa Bay Lightning revealed their injuries on Tuesday with Brayden Point having suffered a quad tear and Nikita Kucherov a sprained MCL highlighting a lengthy list.
Bolts’ GM Julien BriseBois noted that Point’s injury came in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which caused him to miss the next 10 games. He tried to play though it in Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final but it was too difficult.
“I’ve had tears in the past where you can still find your stride and you can play and be effective,” Point said. “But this one was different. The power wasn’t there and the tight turns and all that kind of stuff … the stuff you need to do to be effective, especially in the Stanley Cup Finals.”
NHL.com
Brayden Point leads list of Lighting injured
In addition, Kucherov’s injury occurred in Game 3 of the Final when Avalanche defender Devon Toews crosschecked him hard into the boards.
Here’s the full list of injured players:
- Brayden Point (quad)
- Nikita Kucherov (MCL)
- Ryan McDonagh (finger)
- Anthony Cirelli (shoulder)
- Brandon Hagel (broken foot)
- Corey Perry (shoulder)
- Nick Paul (shoulder)
- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (MCL)
BriseBois also said that all players should be available for the start of next season.
“[Point is] expected to make a full recovery, all of these guys are,” BriseBois said via NHL.com. “In the case of Point, it’s a matter of probably a few more weeks before he’s fully recovered.”
Anthony Duclair training injury
Florida Panthers forward Anthony Duclair has suffered an achilles tendon injury while doing offseason training per multiple reports.
Duclair, 26, registered 31 goals and 27 assists for 58 points in 74 games this season.
David Quinn next Bruins coach?
David Quinn appears to be the top candidate to land the Boston Bruins coaching job. The Cranston, RI native made his name as one of the top colleges coaches before guiding the New York Rangers rebuild for three seasons.
He was dismissed at the end of the 2020-22 campaign with a record of 96-87-25.
The 55 year-old was recently head coach for Team USA at the Olympics. During his time with Boston University, he displayed an ability to develop young players including B’s defenseman Charlie McAvoy whom he coached there.
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