The defending Stanley Cup Champions are already finding how heavy lies the head that wears the crown. They were coming in without Kevin Shattenkirk who was lost to Anaheim in free agency. Their captain, Steven Stamkos had abdominal surgery in October and is uncertain for the start of the season.
Now you can add Nikita Kucherov to the mix of question marks.
Nikita Kucherov may miss start of the season
The 27 year-old forward is arguably the Lightning’s best player. It turns out that he was feeling discomfort in his hip and received an injection for it.