Tampa Bay Lightning F Brayden Point will not play this weekend

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point will not be joining his team on the ice as they embark on their first back-to-back series this weekend.

The Tampa Bay Lightning certainly kicked off the 2019-20 season with a bang, capturing a decisive 5-2 victory over their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers, in their Home Opener on Thursday night. Unfortunately, there was a particular play who was noticeably missing for the lineup.

In addition to Cedric Paquette, who has been missing from the Lightning lineup since taking a particularly hard hit from Panthers defenseman Riley Stillman in the final preseason game of the year, a familiar face missing from the lineup has been forward Brayden Point.

As most everyone here in the Bolts Nation knows by now, the Lightning recently ended months of uncertainty by nailing down the 23-year-old forward to a three-year deal worth around $6.75 million per year. Regrettably, Point was not in a position to take the ice with his team on Opening Night.

Point underwent hip surgery in the off-season and is still working to get back to where he needs to be in order to get back in the lineup. Many were hoping Brayden Point would be ready for Thursday’s battle with the Panthers, but it simply wasn’t meant to be.

The big question now is, when will Point be ready to make his way onto the ice with his teammates? It seems like there is no definitive answer in play right now, but according to Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper, the moment Bolts fans have been waiting for might be coming up soon.

Coach Cooper spoke to the media following the team’s practice Friday morning at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon. When asked about Point’s status for the upcoming back-to-back series, Cooper said Point would not be playing in the next two games, but he hinted he may be mixing in soon.

“These two games, no,” Cooper said. “But after that, then you can start asking.”

Coach Cooper’s words can be taken as both good and bad news. The bad news being obvious, Brayden Point will not be on the ice for the Lightning’s second battle with the Florida Panthers or their first contest of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes. The good news is, it seems as if Point’s return is not too far off.

Of course, nothing is ever set in stone when it comes to injuries. We were about to discuss how quickly things can change when it comes to this particular subject, then we realized we didn’t even want to put that kind of negativity out there in the universe when it comes to Point, so we’ll just leave it at that.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will definitely have their hands full this weekend.  Tonight, the Lightning will be facing off against a hungry Florida Panthers team looking to gain a little redemption in their Home Opener. Less than 24 hours later, the Lightning will be back at it again against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It’s never ideal for a team to embark on their first back-to-back series in the first week of the season, but so is the nature of the beast we call hockey. If there was ever a team who can weather the storm, it’s the Tampa Bay Lightning. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 p.m. We can’t wait to see what the Boys in Blue have in store for us tonight from Sunrise.