It’s been a rough 2024 for Erik Cernak. He missed the first four games of the year after taking a big hit from Josh Anderson of the Canadiens on New Year’s Eve. He returned for Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings and played 19:34. Unfortunately for the Lightning he would not make it through his second game back.
With just a few minutes to go in the first period against the New Jersey Devils, Cernak took a hit up high from Nathan Bastain:
In response to Nathan Bastian's hit on Cernak, #GoBolts rookie Gage Goncalves charged in.