Point missed the Lightning's previous game due to a lower-body injury but was a full participant in practice (including powerplays) and will return on Wednesday vs. Boston. The 28-year-old was on a tear prior to his injury picking up seven points (5G/2A) in his last three games to add to his impressive 80 points (41G/39A) in 70 games played on the season.
Point took a hard hit from Morgan Reilly in Game 3 which caused him to miss a period of the second period and will now be a game-time decision for Game 4 but is expected to play as a whole. The 27-year-old has two goals, three points, 13 SOG, two PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through three games in the Lightning's opening series.
Point took a hard hit from Morgan Reilly in Game 3 which caused him to miss a period of the second period and will now be a game-time decision for Game 4 but is expected to play as a whole. The 27-year-old has two goals, three points, 13 SOG, two PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through three games in the Lightning's opening series.
Point was officially listed as a game-time decision for Game 3 but he is not on the ice for warmups and will miss Game 3 vs. the Avalanche. Corey Perry will likely take his place on the Lightning's top power-play unit.
Point suffered an injury in Game 7 vs. the Maple Leafs and is expected to miss Game 1 on Tuesday. However, the Lightning said he should be day-to-day after that, so it looks like he avoided serious injury. The Lightning are expected to do some serious line shuffling with Point out and could go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Point was scratched Thursday vs. the Maple Leafs but was back on the ice this morning and will play Saturday vs. the Predators. Point has been pretty quiet recently, going goalless with just one assist in his last eight games.
Point has not played since November 20th but will be back in the Lightning lineup vs. Montreal. His return should provide a huge boost to a Tampa team that is missing quite a few bodies due to COVID-19 protocol. Point is expected to centre a line with Alex Killorn and Mathieu Joseph.
Point was a full participant in Monday's practice and Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde said that he is in the "day-to-day category" but "might return tomorrow vs. Montreal." This would be a huge boost for the Lightning, who are missing six players due to COVID-19 protocol right now.
The Lightning called him week-to-week earlier in the day but he must have undergone further evaluation since. Point was hurt when he was tripped on a breakaway and crashed into the end boards on Saturday. Don't expect to see him back in the lineup until after Christmas.
The Lightning did not provide much of an update on Point, other than to say that he is "probably in that week-to-week stage right now." All things considered, this is probably the best-case scenario but will still put the Lightning in a tough spot for at least a couple of weeks.
Point missed Game 3, returned for Game 4 and then missed Game 5 of this series. Prior to the last game, head coach Jon Cooper said that they are trying to manage the injury, so it sounds like they want to try and rest him and still get to the Stanley Cup Final. Point is listed as a game-time decision but don't be surprised if he sits out a second straight game.
