Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos likely to return for Tampa Bay’s first-round series

It looks like the Tampa Bay Lightning will finally be at full strength once the playoffs begin.

@Nikita Kucherov, who missed the entirety of the 2021 season with a hip injury, and @Steven Stamkos, who was placed on the Injured Reserve back in mid-April with a lower-body injury, are both likely to be ready to play when the Lightning take on the Florida Panthers in the first round.

This is pretty much hockey’s worst kept secret. Even when Kucherov was placed on the LTIR to open the season, it was known he was going to be back for Game 1 of the playoffs when his $9,500,000 cap hit wouldn’t affect the team. The same goes for Stamkos, as the Lightning were able to accrue bonus cap room with him on the LTIR.

That said, the fact that Tampa managed to put together a 36-15-3 record despite not having Kucherov, arguably their best player, for the entirety of the season, is pretty impressive. The Lightning operating at full strength will be a handful for the Panthers in the first-ever playoff Battle of Florida this spring.