Leading scorer Nikita Kucherov left the Tampa Bay Lightning game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period on Monday night. He played only 5:19 and left after only six shifts. He was on the ice for the first goal, scored by Chris Kunitz, for the Lightning, but left soon after. There was no apparent moment when an injury could have happened and he skated off normally on his last shift.
During the second intermission The Tampa Bay Times reporter Joe Smith reported that Kucherov had suffered an “upper body injury” and would not return to the game:
Kucherov has 33 goals and 82 points on the season.