Lightning share long list of players' playoff injuries
If there's any team that knows what it takes to win the Stanley Cup, it's the Tampa Bay Lightning.
And while they may have come up just short of a three-peat, we now have a better idea of the sacrifices the players were making to try and take home another championship.
On Tuesday, members of the Lightning met with the press for their end-of-season media availabilities, during which general manager Julien BriseBois disclosed details on the numerous injuries that his players played through on their run to the Cup Final.
Many hockey fans were finally given answers on the ailments suffered by Tampa stars like Brayden Point, who only appeared in nine playoff games due to a "significant" quad tear.
#Bolts BriseBois:
-Bellemare had meniscus injury starting playoffs.
-Cirelli had shoulder/AC joint sprain vs. NYR & dislocated other shoulder vs. COL.
-Kucherov had MCL sprain vs. COL.
-Paul had shoulder/AC joint sprain vs. NYR & MCL sprain vs. COL
(1/2)— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) June 28, 2022
-Perry had shoulder/AC joint sprain vs. NYR
-Point had significant quad tear vs. TOR
-McDonagh mangled finger from block vs. NYR
"To be honest, every player on the roster had multiple contusions along the way."
All players are expected to make a full recovery.
(2/2)— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) June 28, 2022
Many were also curious about what forward Anthony Cirelli suffered through, after he awkwardly injured his arm in Tampa's Game 4 loss at home. A camera in the Lightning locker room showed teammate Pat Maroon helping Cirelli put his jersey on during the second intermission.
Dave Mishkin and Phil Esposito react to the Cirelli injury #GoBolts #COLvsTBL #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/XZ85ZakbTc
— Bucs Rays Bolts (@BucsRaysBoltsYT) June 23, 2022
Despite putting up an impressive 27 points in 23 playoff games, forward Nikita Kucherov failed to make as much of an impact as he would have liked in certain games. Some fans' theories about his health were validated when BriseBois announced that Kucherov had been playing with an MCL sprain.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh led the playoffs in blocked shots with 69, and paid the price for putting his body on the line, suffering through a mangled finger as result of his bravery in his own end.
Defensive partner Erik Cernak contributed 45 blocked shots of his own along the way, and was visibly hurt throughout the Final, although no update was given on the possible injuries he carried.
Of course, Tampa weren't alone in dealing with injuries, as the Avalanche missed key players throughout the run, and had others play through some pain of their own. Following his conquest of the Cup on Sunday, forward Valeri Nichushkin shared a picture of his injured foot on Instagram.
Anything for the Cup.
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