Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak ruled out for game four

The head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jon Cooper, has announced that defenseman Erik Cernak will not play in game four of the first-round series.

Cernak has not been ruled out for the series and could play as early as game five if everything goes well. He has been out since the first game of the series when Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting injured him with an illegal headshot. So far, Cernak has missed three games with this injury and Bunting has been suspended for as many games.

Veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian will likely draw into the lineup for as long as Cernak is injured. The Maple Leafs took a surprising 2-1 series lead last night after Morgan Rielly scored the game-winning goal in overtime. The injury to Cernak is a huge blow to the Lightning’s playoff chances and if he doesn’t come back at all this series the Lightning are in trouble.

Cernak played 70 games for Tampa Bay this year, scoring two goals and 16 points, along with 53 penalty minutes and a +8 rating. He is fresh off of an eight-year contract extension he signed with the team carrying an AAV of $5.2 million. He has originally selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. In 2017, he was traded to Tampa Bay as part of the Peter Budaj/Ben Bishop deal.

Since then Cernak has become a staple on the Lightning back-end. He has played an average of 19:14 minute of ice time per game this season and is effectively tied with Ian Cole for the third most ice time among Lightning defensemen, behind Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev.

The 25-year-old Slovakian native has played 296 NHL games and scored 75 points. He also played 74 playoff games and owns two Stanley Cup rings.