Wing Nikita Kucherov was back at Saturday's morning skate, and plans to play tonight in the exhibition finale against the Panthers, which is an encouraging sign for the Lightning.
Kucherov had suffered a lower-body injury early in Thursday's 3-2 win over Dallas, briefly trying to test it before leaving the game for good. He said there's still some pain, but it shouldn't hold him back heading into the season.
"I felt like I couldn't play because my leg wasn't good, so that's why I decided to not force it," Kucherov said. "I'm just glad it wasn't a knee or something else.