The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to face off against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night without one of their top offensive weapons. According to a team source, forward Brayden Point will miss the game due to a lower body injury he sustained in the first period of Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Point’s absence will force head coach Jon Cooper to juggle his forward lines. It’s expected that Anthony Cirelli will be elevated to the top unit alongside sniper Nikita Kucherov and gritty winger Brandon Hagel. Cirelli has primarily centered the second line this season.
Significant Loss for Lightning
Losing Point for any amount of time is a big blow to a Lightning squad with Stanley Cup aspirations. The 28-year-old has been a consistent scoring threat since breaking into the league in 2016-17. In 12 games this season, Point has racked up:
- 13 points (8 goals, 5 assists)
- 5 power play goals (leads team)
- 3 game-winning goals
For his career, the former 3rd round draft pick has put up elite numbers:
| Games | Goals | Assists | Points |
| 592 | 272 | 294 | 566 |
“You never want to see a teammate get hurt, especially a player as important as Pointer. We’ll have to step up collectively to fill that void. Next man up mentality.” – Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman
Gage Goncalves Gets the Call
To help provide some reinforcements up front, the Lightning recalled forward Gage Goncalves from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, on Tuesday. The 23-year-old has tallied 4 assists in 4 games with the Crunch this season.
Goncalves made his NHL debut with Tampa Bay in 2022-23, appearing in 2 games. The Lightning drafted the Mission, BC native in the 2nd round (62nd overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Tough Test Against Blues
Without Point in the lineup, the Lightning offense may struggle to generate chances against a stingy St. Louis Blues defense. The Blues have allowed the 6th fewest goals per game (2.50) in the NHL this season.
Tampa Bay will lean heavily on their power play, which still boasts weapons like Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev, to make up for Point’s absence. The Lightning power play ranks 3rd in the league at 27.5%.
As of now, there is no timetable for Point’s return. The Lightning are likely to provide an update on his status in the coming days. In the meantime, they’ll look to bounce back from Sunday’s disappointing defeat and get a big road win over a tough Central Division opponent on Tuesday night in St. Louis.
