Tampa Bay Lightning won’t have Steven Stamkos for Conference Final
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without team captain Steven Stamkos against the New York Islanders.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are back in the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in the past four seasons after a one-year hiatus. However, they won’t have a key member of their squad on Monday when they begin their series against the New York Islanders.
According to head coach Jon Cooper, team captain Steven Stamkos isn’t going to play during the series.
This is obviously a big loss for the Lightning, who won’t have their leader and second-leading goal scorer available against a very tough defensive team. Stamkos had 29 goals during the regular season in 57 games, which trailed only Nikita Kucherov among Lightning skaters.
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Speaking of Kucherov, the Bolts did get some good news on Sunday. It appears Kucherov will play in Game 1. He suffered an injury back in Game 5 against the Boston Bruins. The time off has apparently been a good thing for him.
Even though the Lightning won’t have Stamkos, it’s worth pointing out they’ve been doing just fine in the bubble without him. Now, that’s not saying Stamkos isn’t valuable to Tampa. Rather, it’s a testament to the Lightning’s forward depth.
Guys like Ondrej Palat, Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, and Alex Killorn have stepped up in Stamkos’ absence. Of course, so has Brayden Point, who has been simply outstanding this postseason with 18 points so far. Kucherov has stepped up too, with 16 points thus far.
That said, it still hurts to not have Stamkos against the Islanders. They present a very tough challenge for Tampa. Few teams are good enough defensively to stop the Lightning, but the Islanders are probably one of them.
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Even without Stamkos, Tampa is the favorite heading into the Eastern Conference Final. They might be able to get him back for the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning are hoping they get to find out if they will.