As feared, Nikita Kucherov was not able to play in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s significant skirmish with the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
The details are mum (file him as “undisclosed” and “day-to-day”) for Kucherov, who attempted to play but didn’t feel so great during warm-ups.
Kucherov appeared to get hurt late in the Lightning’s boisterous win against the New York Islanders on Friday. Here are a few accounts of Kucherov taking tonight’s warm-up:
Kucherov doing a lot of standing by the bench and talking to the trainers during pregame warmups. #TBLightning
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) March 26, 2016
Kucherov on ice for warmups, but gingerly skating around #tblightning
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 26, 2016
Update: A slightly more descriptive way of ... kind of saying the same thing about Kucherov.
#TBLightning forward Nikita Kucherov is day-to-day with a lower body injury.
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 27, 2016
Really, it’s coming down in buckets for the Lightning lately.
As expected, no Filppula (upper body) or Callahan (lower body) #tblightning
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 26, 2016
The biggest concerns are with Kucherov and Anton Stralman, whose return is limited to “maybe if the Lightning make a deep playoff run.”
Tampa Bay is rolling with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in this key game against the Florida Panthers. If they manage a win (they’re currently down 2-1), it would be quite the remarkable feat for a team that’s starting to show some of the promise they often exhibited last season.
Perhaps we’ll get a more exact idea regarding Kucherov’s condition later tonight?