Game 5 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals had several odd moments, starting almost immediately with Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop misreading a play, coming out to play a puck in his own zone, colliding with Bolts defenseman Victor Hedman, losing the puck and giving up the game's first goal on a wide open net to Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp in the process.
Then there was the strange collision in the second period where Tampa forward Nikita Kucherov, one of the three members of the Tampa "Triplets" line, cut to the net after Hawks goaltender Corey Crawford misplayed a puck of his own, tripped over a desperate and diving Crawford and fell, collar bone-first into the post.
While Bishop seemed to shake off his collision with Hedman, it seems Kucherov's collision with Crawford and the post has left his status for Game 6 up in the air.
"He was on the plane," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said, via Shawn Roarke of NHL.com. "I would say he's much along the lines of Ben Bishop and how he was (before Game 5). We'll have an optional skate tomorrow, so don't read anything into it if he's not on the ice.
"He's in considerably better shape today than he was last night. To be honest, I thought there was a chance he was coming back last night. But it didn't work out. These two days will give him the rest he needs."
While the 21-year-old Kucherov wasn't able to return to Game 5, it does sound promising for Bolts fans that Cooper thought he might be able to get back onto the ice even then.
Cooper also seemed to engage in a bit of gamesmanship with Bishop, keeping his big netminder's status unclear prior to Game 5. While it's not certain that's what Cooper is doing here, there is no doubt that Tampa desperately needs Kucherov in the lineup as they attempt to stave off the now-circling Blackhawks, who are now just one win away from their third Stanley Cup victory in the last six seasons.
Kucherov is second on the Lightning in goals (10), assists (12), power-play goals (three) and game-winners (three) thus far in the NHL playoffs.
"Obviously [Kucherov] has been a huge part of why we've been successful," Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. "A clutch player, scored some big goals. Very good player. Hopefully he's back.
"But we found a way to come back in a game that we were down one and tie it, give ourselves a chance. Every game could have gone either way this series. That's the beauty of this sport, how close the series really is. We're hoping that he's back. If not, we have guys that are capable. We've proved that before. We just got to keep believing that."
