The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the second half of a back to back on Sunday, as they host former Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and the Nashville Predators. However, the Lightning may still be without two key players.
Nikita Kucherov and Nick Paul were last minute scratches ahead of the Lightning's game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Although the Lightning went on to win the game over the Senators 4-2, it was still clear that missing two important forwards, especially Kucherov, made things quite a bit trickier.
After the game on Saturday, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper stated that both players will be re-evaluated ahead of Sunday's game and a decision will be made prior to the matchup against Nashville.
While the Lightning's game against the Predators isn't nearly as important as their divisional matchup against the Senators, every point matters as the playoffs draw close and it's certainly difficult to win hockey games without their best player on the ice.