Lightining’s head coach Jon Cooper said he didn’t know why Point left practice but said he “will be fine” for Saturday’s game. Point scored the Lightning’s only goal vs. the Canucks on Thursday.
Paul, 23, had one goal in 11 games with the Senators last season. The former fourth round pick spent most of the season with Belleville, where he had 14 goals and 13 assists (27 points) in 54 games. Paul has been called-up to take up a roster spot with Ryan Dzingel (lower-body) and Alex Formenton (concussion) landing on IR.
Vasilevskiy stopped 42 of 43 shots in the Lightning’s 2-1 shootout win over the Panthers last Saturday. It was a great start to the season for Vasilevskiy, who will be well rested for his second start tonight vs. the Canucks. He was 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .935 SV% vs. Vancouver a year ago.
Vasilevskiy led the NHL with 44 wins and eight shutouts last season, posting a 2.62 GAA and .920 SV% along the way. The Lightning are one of the most dominant teams in the NHL, which will allow Vasilevskiy to challenge for the league-lead in victories again. He was 3-1-0 despite posting an ugly 4.24 GAA and .891 SV% vs. the Panthers last season.
Kucherov has been dealing with a lower-body but he was in practice on Monday and head coach Jon Cooper is “optimistic” that Kucherov will be ready to go for their October 6th opener against the Panthers.
