Even though the Tampa Bay Lightning won 3-2 against the Boston Bruins last night, securing a spot in the conference final, they might be worried about being one star player down.
Last night, Nikita Kucherov left the game and didn’t come back.
In the first period, Kucherov and Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara fought for space in front of the net. It ended with Chara catching Kucherov in the face with his stick, and the Lightning star forward went down.
Kucherov returned to the game after being treated in the dressing room, but later left the game for good.
“Losing ‘Kuch’ early on in the game is obviously a big blow to our team,” defenseman Victor Hedman said according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Fans on social media argued that Chara did it on purpose. However, for those who think he did, the Slovakian got instant karma just a split second later.
When Kucherov went down, Zach Bogosian fired a shot which hit Chara’s ankle with the Bruins captain dropping to the ice.
Chara received a double-minor penalty for the high stick.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the first team to qualify for the conference final. With a win against the Flyers in Game 5 tonight, the New York Islanders can join the Lightning in the quest for the Stanley Cup.
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