Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Lightning forward Brayden Point not yet ruled out for Game 5 vs. Rangers

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 6/8/22

When Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point returned to morning skate with his teammates ahead of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers last week, optimists were crossing their fingers that he would be making an imminent return. As the Lightning ready themselves for a pivotal Game 5 on Thursday, Point still hasn't made it back to game action, as he works through a lower-body injury that he suffered on May 14 during Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the playoffs.

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper indicated on Wednesday that it was still too early to make a call on Point's status for Thursday's contest.

So Brayden Point hasn’t been officially ruled out for Game 5. We will know more in morning.
“I can honestly answer this question with ‘I don’t know,’” Jon Cooper said. https://t.co/ngAT69PtQh
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) June 8, 2022

The former third-round pick was second on the team in goals (28) and fifth in points (58) during the regular season.

Point has spent his entire six-year NHL career with the Lightning and led the league in both games played (82) and game-winning goals (12) during the 2017-18 campaign, while pacing the league in power-play goals (20) the following year. He has recorded 167 goals, 201 assists and 368 points over 417 career regular-season games.

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