Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point is skating in full equipment for the first time since sustaining a leg injury in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Jon Cooper announced Wednesday.
Cooper said it was improbable that Point will return for the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers, but he noted that the "worst of it is over" for Point and that he is improving daily.
Point was injured late in the first period during their Game 7 victory against the Maple Leafs, when he lost an edge and slid awkwardly into the boards, with his right leg buckling underneath him. Still in visible pain, he remained on the bench for the rest of the game, but did not take another shift.
Point did not play at all during the Lightning's Round 2 sweep of the Panthers.
"We’re planning to play without him," Cooper said. "If he gets to play in this series, that's a bonus for everybody. But the guys are focused on who’s in right now and the 20 guys who are going to play tonight, and he's not one of them."