Clinging to an uncertain spot in the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay certainly needs all hands on deck now more than ever as they attempt to come up with impressive strides to climb their way back to the top of the East. But with Nikita Kucherov sitting out key games, it does seem that they will have to find another way to keep on winning.

As of the time of writing, Nikita Kucherov is ranked fourth overall with the best odds to win in the NHL Hart Trophy – set at +650. The Lightning star is just behind the likes of Kirill Kaprizov (+280), Connor McDavid (+280), and Nathan MacKinnon (+400), and his odds aren’t that far behind, which is why he is expected to return strong and make sure that he can stay on track for an MVP finish.

Kucherov’s injury remains undisclosed by the team at this point, meaning that there will be no updates as to how he is recovering right now and what can be expected from him in the coming weeks and months as he continues to sit out certain games while he gets his strength back.

An Unfortunate Injury

While Tampa Bay claimed a much-needed 3-2 overtime win against the Nashville Predators last week, fans were left with a very tough notion and worry on Kucherov’s status after he showed massive discomfort after he made a move on Nashville defenseman Adam Wilsby. Kucherov would go on to sit out the second period, but he later managed to return for the third period where he earned an assist for Brayden Point’s OT goal.

Kucherov would go on to sit out the second game of their back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which would end up in a 5-3 loss at the Amalie Arena. That marked the first time that Kucherov missed a game this season. So far, Kucherov has tallied a total of 34 points off 12 goals and 22 assists, including four dimes in his last three games.

He would have been a great pick to win the MVP this season as he picked up where he left off, finishing with career-highs of 144 points and 100 assists last season to lead the NHL. Should he return, Kucherov would be able to come up with impressive performances down the stretch and get back on his path to the MVP.

Struggle With Injuries

Tampa Bay just finished a stretch of five games played in eight days. They will not play a game until December 5th, which would be against the San Jose Sharks. So far, missing out big games has been really a trend for the Lightning, aside from Kucherov, they have also missed the services of forward Nick Paul, who has also missed the last five games.

"We've got four days so hopefully we can get some bodies back, but it's a next man up mentality," Lightning captain Victor Hedman said. "Conor came in and played a great game. We have full confidence in the next guy but obviously missing ‘Kuch’ and ‘Pauly’ are big losses."

Without Kucherov, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a 58-25-9 record since 2020-21. While this is a positive, the team knows that they will need the services of one of their best stars if they are going to win it all.

"When you're missing one of the best players in the world, that's obviously not a positive, but everyone's got to be a little bit better," Lightning forward Brandon Hagel said. "Everyone's got to step up and everyone has a chance to step up and that's what this league is."