(Tampa) All-star center Brayden Point will be sidelined indefinitely with an upper body injury.
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced the news Sunday, during the first period of their duel against the Minnesota Wild.
Point appeared to injure his shoulder or left arm when he fell against the boards after being tripped on Saturday night in the third period of a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
He hit the horizontal bar on the penalty shot that followed the fall and was able to complete the game.
Point has led the NHL scoring column with 14 goals in the last series. It was the second year in a row he was the NHL’s leading scorer in the playoffs.
The Lightning are already deprived of the services of right winger Nikita Kucherov, who missed a 14e match away due to a lower body injury. He is not expected to return to the game for four to six weeks.