Playoff Leading Scorer Nikita Kucherov Injured Early In Game 6
Kucherov was also down in the offensive zone for a solid couple seconds and was slow to get up well before this attempted hit for him:
Here's Nikita Kucherov's shift before he leaves the ice.
Tries to deliver a hit on Matt Barzal, labors through the rest of the shift… then beelines to the bench and heads to locker room. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/6OgG7bnA4R
— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiTV) June 24, 2021
If there’s more to this apparent upper-body injury (possibly his right shoulder) then the Lightning may be without the current playoff leader in scoring.
Kucherov leads all players with 27 points (5-22) through the playoffs and 9 points in this series against the Islanders.
Tyler Johnson has slid into Kucherov’s spot on the top line for the Lightning.
UPDATE:
This is the play that caused the injury in question:
THE REF IS RIGHT THERE!
Wow.
That’s garbage. #GoBolts #Isles pic.twitter.com/VbioJgUE8A
— CHRIS TORELLO (@TorelloSports) June 24, 2021