Tampa Bay Lightning News

Cirelli is coming off of a really strong second season in the NHL, where he scored 16 goals and 28 assists (44 points) in 68 games. Cirelli had to take on a bigger role with Steven Stamkos injured for a good portion of the season and he flourished as the Lightning's No.2 centre. With Nikita Kucherov out for all of 2021, he will likely play the same role and Stamkos will shift over to the wing to fill-in for Kucherov. Cirelli's ceiling will be capped so long as he is playing with the likes of Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson and not the upper echelon of talent in Tampa Bay, but he's a player that should have a 20-goal, 30-assist pace in 2021's shortened season.

The Lightning are hopeful that Kucherov will be available for the playoffs. Kucherov going on LTIR provides the Lightning with $9.5 million in cap space, which is a positive to come out of this. Tampa Bay is pressed up tight against the cap but losing their best player should allow them to get RFA Anthony Cirelli under contract before the start of the season.

Girgensons scored 12 goals with seven assists (19 points) in 69 games in 2020. Girgensons is locked into a fourth-line role for the Sabres. He led all Buffalo forwards in hits (110) and PK TOI/GM (2:08) last season. Offensively, he hasn't topped 20 points since 2015.

Johansson was a third-round pick in 2014 and made his NHL debut during the 2019-20 season. After going 14-4-3 with a 2.28 GAA and .921 SV% in 22 AHL games, Johansson was 1-3-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .894 SV% during his brief time with Buffalo.

Santini had one-year left on his three-year deal that paid him $1.416 million AAV. The buyout will cost Nashville just $41,667 against the cap in 2021 and $275K in 2022. Santini appeared in just two games with the Predators last season, playing the majority of the year in Milwaukee (AHL).

Point missed Game 3, returned for Game 4 and then missed Game 5 of this series. Prior to the last game, head coach Jon Cooper said that they are trying to manage the injury, so it sounds like they want to try and rest him and still get to the Stanley Cup Final. Point is listed as a game-time decision but don't be surprised if he sits out a second straight game.

Vasilevskiy stopped 27 of 28 shots in the Lightning’s 2-1 win over the Islanders in Game 2. Vasilevskiy is red-hot at the moment, having won six in a row while stopping 168 of the 178 shots (.944 SV%) that he’s faced. Even without Brayden Point and Alex Killorn, the Lightning are still favourites in tonight’s game, making Vasilevskiy and solid DFS play.

Point was forced to leave Game 2 and did not return. The Lighting had a day off on Thursday, so head coach Jon Cooper did not have an update on Point's status. Cooper acknowledged that he might not be available so consider Point a game-time decision for Game 3 on Friday.