The Tampa Lightning announced Tuesday that star center Brayden Point will be sidelined 4 to 6 weeks with the upper-body injury he sustained on Saturday.
Point was injured during a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils. He crashed hard into the wall in the third period after being tripped and immediately grabbed near his left shoulder and collarbone.
A penalty shot was given to the Lightning. Point took it and hit the crossbar before finishing out the game.
The loss of Point comes at the same time Tampa Bay is also without standout forward Nikita Kucherov, who has been out since sustaining a groin injury on Oct. 16 against the Washington Capitals.
Defenseman Zach Bogosian said after Tuesday’s morning skate that the rest of the players need to step up.
“Our locker room is full of gamers,” Bogosian said hours before Tampa Bay’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. “It’s guys that just want to play. Everyone wants to play more, so anytime you get an opportunity, I’m not really too worried about guys stepping up into bigger roles or anything like that. I think we have and are going to handle it just fine and just keep moving forward.”
Point has seven goals and six assists in 16 games this season.
Point signed an eight-year, $76 million extension in July. The deal begins with the 2022-23 campaign and keeps Point under contract through the 2029-30 season.
The 25-year-old Point has been a key cog on Tampa Bay’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams. He has 146 goals and 177 assists (323 points) in 367 games over five-plus seasons with the Lightning.
Point’s playoff performance has been ever better, as he scored the most postseason goals — 14 both times — in the NHL in each of the past two campaigns. Overall, Point has 36 goals and 37 assists in 67 postseason games.
–Field Level Media