As if the loss to the Carolina Hurricanes wasn’t enough to make it a bad night, they also lost the services of their best player after two periods. Nikita Kucherov logged just 15:17 of ice time and wasn’t on the bench for the third period in the Bolts, 4-1 loss on Tuesday.
Following the game, Coach Jon Cooper didn’t have an update following the game, and knowing their usual style, it’ll be in doubt until Thursday’s game against Philadelphia. Without Kucherov in the line-up, Oliver Bjorkstrand took his spot on a line with Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point.
Kucherov’s final shift came at the end of the second period and he was on the ice for Jack Roslovic’s goal. There wasn’t anything obvious on the shift, which lasted 28 seconds. There was a minor collision with Victor Hedman behind the Carolina net, and it looked like he took a hit/slash on his centering attempt to Brayden Point that gave the Hurricanes control of the puck.
The 31-year-old wasn’t 100% to begin the game. There were reports that he took a stick to the wrist in practice on Monday, and the ESPN broadcast crew mentioned that he was feeling a bit under the weather prior to the game.
Kucherov just left practice early after taking a stick to the hand. Vasilevskiy did not finish the skate (which was partly expected with the third goalie from the start) #GoBolts
— Benjamin Pierce (@boltsben.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Kucherov has logged a lot of ice time this season, among forwards his 1309:10 is second on the team behind Brandon Hagel and sixteenth in the league. Prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off he was logging more than 21 minutes per night. While that workload has lessened to a degree (outside of the 27:58 he played against Florida) he is still on the ice and subject to a lot of extra bumps/slashes/hooks throughout the game. All of that can add up and take its toll.
It speaks to his excellence on the ice when he puts up five points in his last five games, but it still feels he hasn’t been right. Still, he seemed somewhat off in the game against Boston, and while he racked up a lot of shot attempts (10) against Boston, he was held off of the scoreboard. While giveaways are always going to be part of his game as they are with any creative forward, they’ve been piling up of late with five in the last three games.
The Lightning will need him back at his best down the stretch to secure a playoff spot and make a run for the top of the division, so if missing a game now helps get him back on track, it’ll be well worth it. It’s no coincidence that Kucherov is pointless in his last two games and the Bolts only have one goal. The offense runs through their 92-point man.
As usual, the Lightning made a move just after we hit the publish button. They used one of their post-deadline recalls to bring Cameron Atkinson back to Tampa. This could be a precautionary move or an indication that Kucherov might miss a game or two.
Atkinson was assigned to Syracuse on March 5th in order to free up some salary cap room for the Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand acquisitions. He did not appear in any games for the Crunch.
