A torn quad. A busted foot. MCL sprains.
These are just a few of the many injuries the Tampa Bay Lightning battled through in search of a Stanley Cup three-peat.
“What they put themselves through, it’s mind-boggling,” said Bolts bench boss Jon Cooper after the Colorado Avalanche lifted the Cup Sunday night. “We would have had half our minor-league team playing if it was the regular season.”
He’s not wrong. On Tuesday morning, the long list became public.
Brayden Point suffered a torn quad when he went down in game seven against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He missed all four games against the Florida Panthers in the second round, and the entire Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers. Point did, however, draw in for games 1 and 2 against the Avs, scoring one assist while averaging 17:20 between the games. The good news is Point will reportedly be recovered in a few weeks.
Nick Paul, Nikita Kucherov and Pierre-Édouard Bellemare suffered MCL sprains, while the former also dealt with a AC joint sprain in his shoulder. Corey Perry also worked his way through an AC joint sprain in his shoulder, while Ryan McDonagh had a “mangled finger.”
Brandon Hagel suffered a fractured foot against the Florida Panthers, while Anthony Cirelli suffered an AC joint sprain that will require surgery.
The laundry list was long, and with the amount of key players injured for the Lightning, it’s impressive they were even able to get the Avalanche to six games in the series.
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