Tampa Bay entered the third period with a 4-1 lead over the Montreal Canadiens, but the Lightning will have to complete Sunday’s game without forward Cedric Paquette.
The 21-year-old only took one shift in the second period and it was later revealed that he won’t return to the contest, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith. The nature and severity of his injury were not disclosed.
Paquette has a goal in nine postseason games with Tampa Bay after recording 19 points in 64 regular season contests as a rookie. He had been averaging 14:12 minutes per game in the playoffs going into tonight’s contest.
If his injury keeps him out for more than just the third period of Sunday’s game, then rookie forward Jonathan Drouin could end up back in the lineup. Drouin has only appeared in one 2015 playoff game, but Lightning coach Jon Cooper has expressed an interest in playing Drouin before this series is over.