Brayden Point will be a game-time decision for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they play the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday.
The Lightning center has been unfit to play twice against the Islanders, including a 2-1 double overtime loss in Game 5 in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final, on Tuesday. Tampa Bay is 3-0 in the series with Point and 0-2 without him.
Point is tied with Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead this postseason with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 16 games.
"Obviously Brayden Point's a big part of our team," Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson said. "He's an unreal player, but I don't think we change our structure, I don't think we change our game plan. We stick to what's been working and we've been generating a lot of chances and getting the pucks on net. Try to use our [defensemen], get them involved, basically playing five guys on offense. Regardless of who's in the lineup, we always try to play the same way. That's just what we need to focus on."
The winner of this series will face the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final.
Here are 3 keys for Game 6: