"You can't replace guys like that," Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian said. "They're world-class talents. It gives an opportunity for other guys to step up. More opportunity for guys is usually good for the group. You get a lot more out of people. I think we're, as a group, a mature group, a team that has been through a lot. I think we're going to handle it just fine."
If there is a team in the NHL set up to handle the loss of two of their best players, it's the Lightning. They proved it last season when they went the entire regular season without Kucherov, still were able to finish third in a rugged Central Division then bulldozed their way through the postseason once Kucherov returned to win their second-straight Stanley Cup.
The Lightning have been through this situation before. It's not one they want to make a habit of, but they know how to overcome the loss of a key player to injury because they have depth and guys waiting in the wings that can play within the team's system and structure so that the don't have to change the way they play.
"You know (Point and Kucherov) are guys that, we're talking about top players in the league. Not just top players on our team but top players in the league," Lightning center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. "You aren't going to find two new guys like this. But it doesn't matter. If you want the team to go far and long during the season and in the playoffs, you have to have next-man mentality and have guys ready to step up and do their job. Maybe whoever's going to come doesn't have the skill level that those guys have, but it doesn't matter. The system is set, you should be able to be rolling with the team the same way."
Point produced seven goals and 13 points through 16 games this season. He led all Lightning forwards for average time on ice. He was a main component of the Bolts' top power-play unit that was still trying to find consistency without Kucherov. He is the team's number one center. Adjustments will need to be made without him in the lineup. The Lightning don't have one player on the bench who can do the things Brayden Point does. It'll take a collective group effort from guys already in the lineup and others joining the lineup to replace Point, just as it was when Kucherov went down in the third game of the season.
"Our locker room is full of gamers," Bogosian said. "It's guys that just want to play. Everyone wants to play more, so anytime you get an opportunity, I'm not really too worried about guys stepping up into bigger roles or anything like that. I think we have and are going to handle it just fine and just keep moving forward."
The Lightning lost their first three games with Kucherov out of the lineup but are 8-1-2 since. It remains to be seen if they can enjoy similar success while Point is sidelined.
While the update on Point wasn't positive, better news came out of Tampa Bay's morning skate ahead of its rematch tonight versus the Philadelphia Flyers at AMALIE Arena (7 p.m. puck drop), a team the Lightning defeated 4-3 in a shootout five nights earlier in Philly.
