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Kucherov ‘probable’ for Game 6, says Cooper

2015 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Two

2015 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Two

NHLI via Getty Images

CHICAGO -- In a Stanley Cup Final where injury updates have been extremely hard to come by, Monday bucked the trend.

Following the morning skate, Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said injured forward Nikita Kucherov -- who exited Game 5 in the first period after crashing into the Chicago net -- was “probable” for tonight’s Game 6 at the United Center.

Opting to speak in traditional NFL parlance -- “what to they use in football?” Cooper joked -- the Bolts bench boss decided to reveal Kucherov’s status, a far cry from what he’s done with the health of starting netminder Ben Bishop. To be fair, things were trending in this direction yesterday, when Cooper said Kucherov was “in considerably better shape” than on Saturday night.

Having the Russian sniper available is huge. Kucherov currently sits second in playoff scoring with 22 points, and Tampa Bay is struggling to score goals right now; they’ve only put two past Corey Crawford in the last two games and sniper Steve Stamkos has gone cold, having failed to find the back of the net since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against New York.