The forward sustained the injury in the first period of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 14. He was chasing a puck, when Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano tried to get a stick on the puck and Point's right leg buckled under him as he slid into the boards.
Point missed 10 games before returning to play the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche. He was removed from the lineup after Game 2 and did not play for the remainder of the best-of-7 series, which the Lightning lost in six games.
"The guys did a great job to get there and they got me a chance to play in a couple games," Point said. "It was tough. But just watching the guys and seeing what they did and the effort they put in, it was a very special bunch."
Point had an assist in Game 1 of the Cup Final and finished the playoffs with five points (two goals, three assists) in nine games. He said he didn't re-aggravate the injury or make anything worse by playing in the two games but wasn't able to play at a level where he was effective.
"I've had tears in the past where you can still find your stride and you can play and be effective," Point said. "But this one was different. The power wasn't there and the tight turns and all that kind of stuff ... the stuff you need to do to be effective, especially in the Stanley Cup Finals."
Point's absence was among the reasons why the Lightning failed to win their third straight Stanley Cup championship. He led the playoffs with 14 goals in each of their championship runs in 2020 and 2021.
His injury was one of several announced by Tampa Bay at its breakup day Tuesday.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare had a meniscus injury heading into the postseason that will need arthroscopic surgery. Anthony Cirelli sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder during the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers and dislocated his left shoulder in the Final. Nicholas Paul and Corey Perry also had sprained AC joints.
Paul and Nikita Kucherov each sustained an MCL sprain in the Cup Final. Brandon Hagel sustained a foot fracture while blocking a shot in Game 2 of the second round against the Florida Panthers. Ryan McDonagh played with an injured finger after blocking a shot in the conference final.
"[Point is] expected to make a full recovery, all of these guys are," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. "In the case of Point, it's a matter of probably a few more weeks before he's fully recovered."
Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said the physical sacrifice his teammates went through to get to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final is something to be proud of.
"Of the three runs this is the one we didn't win, but we might be the most proud of in terms of how hard it was to get here," Stamkos said. "You're just extremely proud of what guys did. They played through so much, but that's the expectation of this group. It's pretty special when guys are willing to do whatever it takes to win."
