Tampa Bay Lightning place Nikita Kucherov in COVID-19 protocols
The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed forward Nikita Kucherov in COVID-19 protocols.
UPDATE: Nikita Kucherov has entered COVID protocol
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) January 25, 2022The star forward returned to the Lightning lineup on Jan. 6 after missing 32 games to start the year. Kucherov suffered a lower body on Oct. 16 earlier.
The previous year, Kucherov missed the entire regular season after undergoing hip surgery. It didn’t stop him from returning in the playoffs where he posted a league-leading 32 points in 23 game, scoring eight goals and 24 assists.
That torrid pace was kept up in his return this year. Scoring at 1.55 points per game, it’s ever so slightly behind his 1.56 points per game pace in 2018-19. That year he scored 41 goals and 128 points earning him the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay award.
Kucherov will miss at least five days while in protocols. Over that stretch, he will miss home games against the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights.
The Lightning are tied for first in the Atlantic Division with a 28-10-5 record as they embark on a search for their third Stanley Cup in a row. If they do so, they would be the first team since the 1980-83 New York Islanders to three-peat.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.