Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point skated Saturday morning alongside his teammates as he works his way back from a lower-body injury with the start of Olympic men’s hockey just under two weeks away.
Point was one of the first six players named to Team Canada’s Olympic roster in June but was injured on Jan. 12 in a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Earlier in the week, TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston said that Canada was not looking at an injury replacement for Point at this time.
“Well, it didn’t look too good when he went down with that injury in Philadelphia earlier in the month,” said Johnston Tuesday on Insider Trading. “What I can tell you since then is that the news has gotten at least a little bit more encouraging. At this point in time, it is fully Point’s intention to get himself back healthy and get himself ready to play for Team Canada in Milan.
“There’s only a week and a half until the players fly over there, so he’s going to have to continue to make progress [and] perhaps even get into a game for the Lightning. But at this point in time, we’re not talking about an injury replacement. We’re talking about Point getting healthy enough in time to play for Canada.”
Point will not play in Sunday’s Stadium Series game against the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. After that, the Lightning have two more games remaining on the schedule before the Olympic break, as they host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday followed by the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
The 29-year-old has 11 goals and 30 points in 37 games this season.
The Olympic men’s hockey tournament kicks off on Feb. 11 with Canada hitting the ice for the first time the next day against Czechia in the round robin.