Lightning’s Brayden Point returns versus Penguins after 4-game injury absence

The Tampa Bay Lightning lineup will receive a jolt Tuesday versus the Pittsburgh Penguins with the return of center Brayden Point, who is set to retake the ice following a four-game absence due to a lower-body ailment.

Point sustained the injury in the opening frame of an early November contest against the Winnipeg Jets and did not return. The Jets went on to capture a 7-4 victory.

At practice Monday, Point was leading the Lightning’s top line alongside fellow forwards Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov, per Lightning team reporter Benjmain Pierce.

The Lightning went 2-1-1 in Point’s absence and sit third place in the Atlantic Division with a 9-6-1 record and 19 points, five points back of the Toronto Maple Leafs with three games in hand.

Tuesday’s contest marks the first of three matchups between the Lightning and Penguins this season. In 20 career appearances versus Pittsburgh, Point has collected eight goals and six assists for 14 points.

On the season, Point has been productive, registering just ahead of a point-per-game pace with eight goals and five assists through 12 appearances. In all, Point has been held off the scoresheet on just two occasions this season while in three contests he has finished with a multi-point showing.

The 28-year-old Calgary native has reached the 90-point plateau in each of the past two seasons. In 2023-24, the diminutive forward also led the Lightning with 46 goals, good for eighth-best across the NHL.

A third-round selection by Tampa Bay in the 2014 NHL Draft, Point has been a fixture since joining the Lightning, helping the club claim back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. Both years, Point led all playoff performers with 14 goals.

Now in his ninth season with the Lightning, Point has registered 272 goals and 294 assists for 566 points through 592 career contests.