The Lightning found themselves down to nine forwards on Wednesday night after losing Brayden Point to an injury in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Islanders.
Point went to the locker room for treatment following a shift in the second period and did not return. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Point, Tampa Bay's No. 1 center, appeared to tweak a hamstring.
Sportsnet now reporting this for #GoBolts Brayden Point
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Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper offered no details after the game about the injury or Point's status.
"I don't have an update on him yet, but we all know the character of that kid and what a competitive gamer he is, so for him not to come back, I know it was tough on him and clearly it was tough on us as well," Cooper said, per NHL.com. "So maybe tomorrow I'll have a little bit more for you, but he couldn't come back tonight."
Tampa Bay was at 10 forwards after losing Alex Killorn to a first-period game misconduct. The Lightning dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Point's departure left the club with just three full forward lines.
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Point, 24, is second among NHL players with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in the postseason (1.53 PTS/GP in 15 games). He was third on the team with 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 66 games during the regular season.
Tampa Bay managed to win Game 2, 2-1, on a goal by one of those nine forwards, Nikita Kucherov, with 8.8 seconds remaining in regulation. The Lightning now lead the best-of-seven East finals two games to none. Game 3 will be Friday at 8 p.m. ET in the Edmonton bubble.
