TAMPA, Fla. – Lightning forward Alex Killorn will not play in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, coach Jon Cooper said on Wednesday.
Killorn is classified as “day-to-day” for the rest of the series with a lower body injury. Cooper did not say who will replace Killorn in the lineup.
The 31-year-old winger is tied for second on the team with eight goals this postseason, and has 17 points through 19 games. Killorn blocked a shot from Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry midway through the second period of Game 1, and played just four shifts the rest of the game – including only one shift in the third period.
Teammate Ondrej Palat called Killorn “a huge part of our team.” “Everybody will have to step up and fill his role,” Palat said.
When Killorn blocked the Petry shot, he was without his stick – because he had lent it to teammate Victor Hedman earlier in his shift.
Tampa Bay has used the same forward group through the entire playoffs, so it is unclear who would be next in line to replace him in the lineup. The Lightning could also choose to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, in which case Luke Schenn would likely draw in.