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With Malone hurt, Lightning call up Kucherov

kucharovgetty

The Tampa Bay Lightning called up Nikita Kucherov and Dmitry Korobov on Sunday thanks in part to injuries to Ryan Malone and Radko Gudas.

Kucherov is the guy to watch.

The 2011 second-rounder (58th overall) has impressed so far, including his first season in the AHL. The 20-year-old already has 24 points in 17 games with Syracuse Crunch, including 13 goals. (The Lightning tend to follow the Detroit Red Wings model of developing prospects slowly, so Raw Charge notes that Tom Pyatt’s expected return might mean Kucherov won’t get much of a chance to impress at the NHL level.)

Malone didn’t practice on Sunday after taking a shot off the foot during Friday’s game, according to the Tampa Tribune’s Erik Erlendsson.

Erlendsson also reports that Radko Gudas is out of commission with an upper-body injury, opening the door for this call-up for Korobov.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins