DENVER – On the eve of the Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Lightning received a gift.
Brayden Point was boiling in the club’s last workout before the record dropped in its bid for a three-beat Wednesday at the Ball Arena.
Between winger Nick Paul and Ross Colton and returning to his usual bumper position in Tampa’s terrifying top-powered game unit, Point looked like a man ready to get back into action.
Just in time.
With no action for a full month while recovering from an undisclosed injury to his lower body in match 7 of the first round series against Toronto, Point is now bowing out to prepare for Match 1 of the final against Toronto. the Colorado avalanche.
The Lightning will see how the stallion center responds to Tuesday’s work, but if they don’t give their thumbs up by Wednesday, Saturday’s game 2 is a sure bet and an incredible boost.
“It’s all about how he feels. He felt pretty good today,” says coach Jon Cooper. “If she’s healthy, she’ll be out there.”
“The playoffs are the reason we play hockey: having a chance to win the Stanley Cup. So it was tough. But just seeing how they’re playing made it a lot easier,” says Point. “You can’t replicate playoff hockey in practice. That just doesn’t happen. So it’s sure to be an adjustment.
“You have to make sure that when you come back, you will help the team. The boys were playing well.”
Point’s imminent return should give visitors a significant lead in the series’ X-factor battle, as Avalanche also hopes his second-line pivot, Nazem Kadri (thumb), can recover. fast enough to make a difference.
Point (five feet, 10 inches of effort) is a difference maker of the highest caliber, one that elevates its performance to the biggest stage.
He has accumulated 77 points in 74 playoff games of his career. He produced more points (56) in consecutive Lightning Championship races than any of his teammates and has scored more playoff goals (30) in the last three postseason than anyone else.
During the Eastern Conference Finals, New York Rangers coach Gerard Gallant acknowledged that Tampa was making progress despite being “probably his best player.”
Gallant will not receive any arguments from Nikita Kucherov.
“He has been the best player on our team for many years. He proved it [to] everyone who can play. He ‘s not a big guy, but he’ s a competitor and a player so much fun to watch and learn, “says Kucherov, who is 5 feet 11.
“If you watch him play, you can catch his vision, his ability to skate, the way he strives to win discus battles. He’s very angry when he plays. For a little boy like him, he plays big.
“That’s also motivating me. I see him doing that, and then I’ll do the same. I want to compete with him even though we’re on the same team. I want to do better than him.”
On May 14, Point suffered an injury when he fell badly on the boards in the first period of Game 7 in Toronto, twisting his right leg while overtaking Mark Giordano on a record. Screaming in terrible pain, he limped out of the ice, only to bravely attempt a change in period 2.
Lame on the ice like a wounded deer, the boy could barely skate. It was ugly to watch.
Point says he was so caught up in the moment, a make-or-kill elimination game, that he desperately wanted to overcome the pain. His body just wouldn’t cooperate. So he planned to go to the bank and cheer on the boys.
“You don’t want to have the feeling of giving up the fight,” Point explains. “I just knew I couldn’t help the team anymore. So, you know, that’s when you sit down.”
In Point’s absence, role players like Brandon Hagel, Paul and Corey Perry have responded well to the increased responsibility, and coach Jon Cooper has at times simply played with seven defenders.
What they lacked in the Lightning in the goal, they compensated in the prevention of goals.
The Tampa Bay Find-A-Ways – as a smiling captain Steven Stamkos calls them – survived Game 7 in Toronto plus two more rounds, buying enough time on the roster for Point to recover.
“That was definitely something in everyone’s head. We just didn’t know how long he’s been injured. Everyone had to step in and play the right way and play for each other,” says Kucherov, “so he can have an opportunity. [to] we will play the final if we succeed.
“We’re all excited to see him again.”