The Tampa Bay Lightning took a big blow when Nikita Kucherov was injured on a crosscheck that had nothing to do with playing hockey. He tried to play on through the shift, but ultimately left as soon as the whistle blew. We have no update on him yet as I write this, and I don’t particularly expect to get one before tomorrow, and possibly even up to game time. I don’t want to speculate too much on what the injury could be, but it was clear that the cross check was delivered forcefully to an unpadded spot in his midsection.
Line up options for the Lightning if Nikita Kucherov is unavailable for Game 7
