(Tampa) Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov to be sidelined indefinitely with an undisclosed lower-body injury suffered in the weekend win over the Washington Capitals latest.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said it was not an injury assessed on a day-to-day basis that Kucherov will have to be off “for a while”.
The team wishes to obtain an official medical opinion before deciding on the duration of his absence.
Kucherov missed the entire 2021 season due to hip surgery suffered after the 2019-20 season. He returned to play for the playoffs and collected 32 points, including eight goals, to help the Lightning win a second straight Stanley Cup.
The 2019 Hart Trophy winner appeared to suffer an abdominal or groin injury while attempting to catch a free puck in the third period of the game won 2-1 in overtime on Saturday.