The Tampa Bay Lightning got a bit of a scare Tuesday when Nikita Kucherov left the ice in the first period of Tuesday’s pre-season matchup against the Florida Panthers.
Soon after, the team announced he’d been ruled out for the remainder of the game with a lower-body injury.
It’s unclear how the injury happened. According to Lightning beat reporter Joe Smith of The Athletic, Tampa GM Julien BriseBois said Kucherov was being held out as a precaution.
Head coach Jon Cooper echoed his GM, telling reporters after the game that he “doesn’t think it’s long-term issue.”
Kucherov, 25, had a career-year in 2017-18 with 39 goals and 61 assists to lead the club in both categories and reach the 100-point plateau for the first time. That success, and his steady climb up the stat sheet over his five years in Tampa Bay, helped earn him an eight-year, $76-million extension wth the Lightning which kicks in starting in 2019-20.
The Lightning are also currently without fellow forward Tyler Johnson, who was sidelined for Tuesday’s game and is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Both players will certainly be worth watching as the regular season nears.
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