Lightning to lean on forward depth in Game 3 of East Final vs. Islanders

The Tampa Bay Lightning's forward depth will be tested in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Islanders at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Friday (8 p.m. ET; USA, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Coach Jon Cooper acknowledged Thursday that it's possible center Brayden Point won't be able to play after leaving during the second period of Tampa Bay's 2-1 win in Game 2 on Wednesday because of a potential injury, When asked Friday if Point would play, Cooper said, "you'll have to tune in to find out what the lineup is tonight."
Also, forward Alex Killorn was
suspended for one game
by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Thursday for boarding Islanders forward Brock Nelson in the first period of Game 2.
"It's definitely challenging," Lightning forward Barclay Goodrow said. "Obviously, those two guys are massive parts of our lineup. I think we've always had the mentality when one guy goes down, it is next man up. So I think it's going take everyone to fill their shoes. But we've been through it before, and guys will rise to the occasion."
RELATED: [Complete Lightning vs. Islanders series coverage]
Forward Nikita Kucherov's tiebreaking goal with nine seconds remaining in Game 2 allowed the Lightning to extend their lead in the best-of-7 series, but they already are missing center Steven Stamkos, who has been unfit to play during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Losing Point would leave Tampa Bay without its top two centers and its leading scorer in the postseason.
Point is second in the NHL with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 15 games, behind Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, who scored 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 15 games before Colorado was eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Second Round. Point scored five points (two goals, three assists) in Tampa Bay's 8-2 win in Game 1 on Monday.
"Obviously, [Point] is a huge part of our team," center Anthony Cirelli said. "Hopefully, he's back, but we'll see."
If Point can't play, Cirelli likely will move up from the second line to play center on the top line between Ondrej Palat and Kucherov, as he did after Point left Game 2. Cirelli, who has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in 15 playoff games, said he would embrace the opportunity.
"We have such a deep lineup that everyone on our team could come in and play and have some skill and all that," Cirelli said. "Obviously [Kucherov] is a superstar in this league, and to be able to go out there with him, he makes some plays, he's very skilled, he does it all. So to get an opportunity to be able to play with a guylike that, you want to do good, you want to help him out."

With an opening for at least one forward, rookies Mitchell Stephens and Carter Verhaeghe could be the leading candidates to enter the lineup. Stephens scored six points (three goals, three assists) in 38 regular-season games and has one goal in six postseason games. Verhaeghe scored 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in 52 regular-season games and has one assist in three playoff games.
"We have really good NHL players sitting out, players that have contributed to our success, players that have already played in these playoffs," Cooper said. "So we're really comfortable with putting other guys in our lineup. Losing somebody of Point's stature, it's not ideal, but we've played without him before and we've played without multiple guys before. So our job is to make sure the players] are not thinking, 'Oh well, poor us.'
"I don't feel like we have a team like that. I think to get this far everybody's pulling the rope in the same direction. So if anything, our guys will dig their heels in the sand a little bit harder and push forward."
The Lightning have dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the past six games. If Point is unavailable and Cooper opts to go with the more traditional alignment of 12 forwards and six defensemen, he'll have to choose between Mathieu Joseph and
[Alexander Volkov
for the 12th forward spot. Neither has played in the postseason.
"We're extremely comfortable going [11 forwards and seven defensemen]," Cooper said. "If we go [12 forwards and six defensemen], we do it. We're just going to put the 18 skaters on the ice that we think give us the best chance to win Game 3."