Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point return to lineup against Leafs
The injury bug may finally be starting to clear up for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they’ll see two of their top players in winger Nikita Kucherov and center Brayden Point return to the lineup on Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Looks like Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov will be back tonight per @DaveMishkin @BoltsRadio
With Kucherov back on the power play, Bjorkstrand was back at the left circle & Point in the bumper spot #GoBolts
Kucherov missed Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders due to an undisclosed injury. The cause of the injury was never known, but it never felt like he was going to be out long-term for the Lightning, so it’s likely he just tweaked something and needed a game off.
Kucherov has been incredible once again this season, as he’s put up 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points in 25 games. While the 107 points he’s on pace for isn’t close to his career best totals, it will still be the sixth time in eight seasons he hits the 100-point mark should he continue at this pace.
Point missed a bit more time than Kucherov, as he had been injured for the previous seven games for Tampa Bay with an undisclosed injury after not returning in a 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals on November 22nd. Point was also activated off of injured reserve on Monday to be eligible to return, which explains why goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was placed on IR earlier today. The Lightning went 4-3-0 in his absence.
It’s been a season to forget so far for Point, as even when he’s been in the lineup, he’s struggled with only three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 21 games. That has him on pace for just 39 points this season, which would be the worst output of his career.
While it would be expected that Kucherov and Point will return to the lineup on the top line alongside Jake Guentzel like before, that actually isn’t the case based on line rushes today. While Point will play with Guentzel, they’ll have Nick Paul on that line, and Kucherov will play on a line with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. However, both players will return to the first power play unit with Guentzel, Hagel and Victor Hedman.
With Kucherov and Point returning to the lineup, that means that Curtis Douglas and Dominic James will exit the lineup in their place. Douglas has two assists in 22 games this season, while James has two goals and three assists for five points in 19 games.
The Lightning currently sit in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 16-10-2 record. They’ll hope that a healthier lineup will snap a three-game losing streak when they visit Toronto on Monday at 7:30 p.m. EST.