The head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jon Cooper, has announced that defenseman Erik Cernak will not play in Game 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Cernak has not been ruled out for the series and could play as early as Game 5 if everything goes well. He has been out since the first game of the series when Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting injured him with an illegal headshot. So far, Cernak has missed three games with this injury and Bunting has been suspended for as many games.
Veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian will likely draw into the lineup for as long as Cernak is injured. The Maple Leafs took a 2-1 series lead Saturday night after Morgan Rielly scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
The injury to Cernak is a huge blow to Tampa Bay's playoff chances and if he doesn’t come back at all this series the Lightning are in trouble.
Cernak played 70 games for Tampa Bay this year, scoring two goals and 16 points and earning a +8 rating. He is fresh off of an eight-year contract extension carrying an AAV of $5.2 million. He was originally selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. In 2017, he was traded to Tampa Bay.
Cernak has become a staple on the Lightning back end. He has played an average of 19:14 minute of ice time per game this season and is effectively tied with Ian Cole for the third most ice time among Lightning defensemen, behind Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev.
The 25-year-old Slovakian native has played 296 NHL games and scored 75 points. He also played 74 playoff games and owns two Stanley Cup rings.
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