Brayden Point returns to practice for the Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning got a welcome surprise their first day back at their home rink following a five-game road trip, their lengthiest of the season to date.
Injured center Brayden Point was on the AMALIE Arena ice and practicing with his teammates Monday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury November 20 that's sidelined him for the last 11 games. Point wore a red no-contact jersey throughout the training session and likely won't be able to return to game action until after Christmas, but the sight of their superstar pivot flying around the ice gave everybody an extra jolt of energy after a disappointing end to an otherwise outstanding road trip where the Bolts went 4-1-0 with wins in Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto before being shut out in the finale in Ottawa.

"It's been a while since we've seen him," Lightning center Anthony Cirelli said. "For him to be out there, his presence out there, kind of gives everyone a boost, makes everyone a little bit happier. It's just nice having him out there with us."
Point, too, was all smiles. He participated in the entire session and, somewhat reluctantly after some cajoling from his teammates, led the post-practice stretch circle.

"Just to see his face smiling and having a good time, it's great," Bolts netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy said. "Great atmosphere and I'm pretty sure he's happy to be out there with the boys."
Point was tripped on a breakaway in a loss to New Jersey on November 20 and crashed hard into the end boards. He was awarded a penalty shot and was able to take the shot as well as finish the game. But he hasn't played since. Three days later, the Lightning announced Point would miss four to six weeks. That timeline would see him return anywhere between December 14-28, although later in that projection seems more realistic.
"It's funny because he's that guy he doesn't want to get held back," Lightning assistant coach Rob Zettler said. "He's in a red jersey out there and you seeing him doing 2-on-2 stuff. He skated well. I think it gave our group some energy to have him out there. I thought we skated well. We had a lot of pop today, so it was good."
The Lightning received more good news on the injury front at Monday's practice. Cirelli and Zach Bogosian were both full participants and wearing regular jerseys for the session.
Cirelli said he aggravated an injury that had been lingering a bit in Tuesday's 3-2 win at Montreal and wasn't able to play in the final two games of the road trip. He said he'll check with the training staff in the morning to see how he's progressing but hopes to be able to return to game action when the Lightning host the Los Angeles Kings Tuesday at AMALIE Arena, the start of a brief, two-game homestand for the Bolts.
"A couple days off helped a lot, and it felt pretty good in practice today," Cirelli said.
Bogosian skated in warmups at Ottawa on Saturday but was a late scratch, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper saying after the game he "had issues" after the Toronto game and there was a thought he might not be able to play in the Canadian capital city.
The veteran blueliner didn't appear limited as he trained with his teammates on Monday.

"I think a couple days off, the rest did him well," Zettler said of Bogosian. "He skated well again today. We'll wake up tomorrow morning and see how he feels. But I would expect he'll be in as well."
Meanwhile, Nikita Kucherov, who hasn't played since the third game of the season October 16 at Washington was on the road trip and joined his teammates for morning skate in Boston last Saturday. He's been skating on his own with a member of the Bolts' coaching staff and "is starting to look good" according to Zettler.
Kucherov is in the eighth week of a timeline that suggested he'd miss eight to 10 weeks after undergoing a successful procedure October 26 to correct a lower-body injury.
"He was on the road trip. We had a great time," Vasilevskiy said. "He's working hard, staying positive. I know it's hard to believe with Kuch, but he's very positive. Can't wait to see him on the ice again."